


Male Pregnancy Serum 2: Love and Life

by AshakiranTheTenthBeast



Series: Naruto Male Pregnancy Serum Series [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Drama & Romance, Family Drama, M/M, Male Slash, Mpreg, Multi, Romance, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-08-23 21:10:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 72,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8342872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshakiranTheTenthBeast/pseuds/AshakiranTheTenthBeast
Summary: Male Pregnancy Serum is back! The five couples have all managed to make peace and started to raise their children born from Orochimaru's experiment. Now that the babies are born and have all grown to the sizes of young teenagers, its time to tell them the truth of their parentage which isn’t going over so well. Marriages that have only just come together are falling apart as real life intrudes on the newlyweds. And something weird is going on, is the Male Pregnancy Serum…contagious??





	1. The Revealing Part 2

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of a series. Make sure to read Male Pregnancy Serum first before reading this one.

_The Families_

_  
_             The marriages had struck their eighteenth day anniversary. The five families were grouped in a meeting room in the Hokage’s office. The six children, Kana Subaku, Sora Sarutobi, Miki and Mika Subaku, Tsubasa Hyuiha and Hikaru Hatake, had all grown and stagnated at the appeared age of twelve.

            The Hokage and Lady Tsunade hadn’t arrived and the families were talking and catching up.

            Suddenly Hikaru was saying loudly, “That’s not how babies are made Tsubasa! Besides, babies can’t be made with two daddies!”

            Tsubasa tossed back, “Well maybe _you_ have two daddies but I don’t! Neji is my Mommy and Neji is a girl!”

            “Yeah, that’s right,” spoke up Kana. “My Mom Kiba is a girl, duh Hikaru. I’m sure your Mom is a girl too! Like you said, you can’t make babies with two daddies.”

            Hikaru looked upset that the other children were questioning him, his mouth firmed, his fists clenched a little. “What do you know about it? My parents Iruka and Kakashi are both men. I just call Iruka my Mom because he’s the one who’s the mother! Duh!”

            “But you’re wrong Hikaru,” said Sora pointedly, at the same time she sounded pitying as if Hikaru was clearly stupid. “Mrs. Hatake is a woman, she has to be in order to have you.”

            Mika cleared her throat. “Actually, my Mommy is transgender. Mommy can be Naruto a boy or Naruko a girl at will! I’m sure Miki will be able to do that when he gets older too!”

            Miki’s nose wrinkled but he didn’t say anything, arms crossed, coolly assessing the room. Gaara was actually making the same closed expression, silently watching the conversation taking place.

            The adults looked at each other, all having the same questions. It was clear that the children didn’t know the truth of their birth, the experiment, the male pregnancy, the forced marriages, none of it. It may have been eighteen days, yes with ups and downs, but what about the monthly exams? None of the children had reached the age of an eighteen year old and clearly their minds were childlike. And what about the children becoming Konoha ninjas? Some of them had shown expertise at jutsu, like Sora Nara and Tsubasa Hyuiha but Kana Subaku and Hikaru Hatake hadn’t at all.

            The door opened, the Fourth Hokage and Lady Tsunade walked in.

            “Okay, let’s get started.” Minato leaned on his desk, saying, “Today is May 4th. You six,” his eyes flickered over the children, who stopped fussing and watched him quietly, “were born on April 13th, your parents were married on April 16th. Its been eighteen days since and right now, we’re here to discuss your development and intelligence.”

            “Well we already know Hikaru is dumb,” snickered Kana, his smirk wide. “Hey, Hikaru, spell Stupid!”

            Hikaru glared at him. “Stupid. K-A-N-A. Stupid!”

            “Hey!” Kana’s eyes narrowed and he stepped forward with sharp teeth bared but Kankuro’s hand landed on the ruff of his jacket and reeled him backwards to his side.

            “Stand down boy,” he spoke harshly. “You started it so you deserved the insult. Now shut up while the Fourth Hokage is talking, show some fucking respect.”

            “Kankuro,” sighed Kiba. “Language. There’s little girls in the room, honestly.”

            “Let’s stay on track, can we?” Minato loosely crossed his arms, not seeming to take any offense. “Now there’s been a _lot_ that’s gone on since the last group meeting and it would take hours to rehash all of it. I’ll say that from looking around, all of the children seem to be around the age of twelve and there haven’t been any growth spurts since April 23 rd, when the marriages had lasted for a complete week. I’ve heard that some children have been showing capabilities at ninjutsu and inheriting kekkei genkai. With that said, I think its safe to say that the children should be able to join the Academy and become Konoha ninjas.”

            “YEEEEAAAHHH!!!” Kana howled deafeningly.

            Meanwhile Hikaru had screamed, “YEEEEES!!” and jumped onto his father for a hug. At the moment, Hikaru did have a mask similar to his father’s, only his was pulled down to hang around his neck like a turtleneck. He also had a book sticking out of his pocket, it wasn’t Icha-Icha Paradise however.

            Sora pumped her fists and grinned at Mika, while Miki’s cold face had broken out into a wide toothy Naruto-esque smile, he looked up at his father cheerily, who gave him a nod and a nice pat on his son’s shaggy red hair. Tsubasa was the only one who didn’t react wildly or happily, she just leaned her head against Neji’s arm and her other hand touched Sasuke’s thigh, who took her hand gently. Tsubasa was the shortest of them all, while Sora was the tallest girl, probably inheriting her height from her father who was the tallest husband.

            “Now,” Minato looked at the clock at the wall, checking the time before looking back at the families. “Tsunade will be performing health check ups on the six children, seeing about their overall development, however Ibiki will be conducting the intelligence tests. So before we do that, I think there should be one last revealing,” his blue eyes centered on the six children. “And that’s that these children learn the truth of their parentage and birth.”

            The adults either gasped or held their breath, but it was Sora who said softly, “You mean the experiment, right?”

            Tsubasa tilted her head. “What experiment?”

            “I think I heard the word _experiment_ too,” nodded Hikaru, glancing at Kakashi. “I can’t spell it though.”

            “You can’t spell anything,” said Kana matter-of-factually but then he went on, “I didn’t hear anything about an experiment. What’s an experiment anyway?”

            “I’m trying to tell you,” said Minato before Mika could finish opening her mouth to add on. “On April 12th, the ten men behind you,”

            He was immediately cut off by a chorus of denials.

            Sora protested, “My mom is a girl!”

            Kana also said, “I know my Mom is a girl! Kiba has to be girl!”

            Tsubasa nodded firmly and glared at Minato. “You’re telling stories sir! My mother Neji is a woman through and through!”

            Shikamaru, Kiba and Neji all glanced at each other. None of them ever told their children explicitly that they were woman but they never told them that they weren’t either. Personally, Kiba felt he looked masculine, he had sharp teeth and slit eyes, his voice was rather rough in timbre. Besides, his breasts were long gone. What about him made Kana think he was a female? Shikamaru could understand why Sora thought he was a woman, he was very motherly towards her, he was slender and smooth-faced. Also he looked the complete opposite of the very manly in appearance Asuma, who had grown back his beard and he went back to smoking, he was tall and heavily-muscled. Neji was confounded, in fact, him and Sasuke looked very similar to each other. Dark hair, white skin, Sasuke was only an inch or so taller than him and neither of them were very muscled, more on the lithe sleekly toned side.

            Minato sighed and said, “They are all men. All ten of them are men, just as much as I am a man. Except for Naruto, she’s my daughter."

            "Anyway,” he continued even though Naruto was giving him a high-powered glare, “on April 12th, the ten men all took part in an experiment orchestrated by a man named Orochimaru, who is currently in a jail cell for multiple crimes, as well as his partner Kabuto. The experiment was called the Male Pregnancy Serum and it involved gathering several ingredients to cause a pregnancy in men. Shikamaru Nara, Iruka Umino, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Kiba Inuzuka and Neji Hyuga were all impregnated by the serum. At the time, no one know who the fathers were, though we were aware of the other five men who had taken part in the experiment, names Asuma Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, Gaara Subaku and his older brother Kankuro Subaku and lastly Sasuke Uchiha. After you six were born, we ran blood tests and found out who your fathers were. After that, I ordered that the ten men to get married for the sake of the children. And that is how you six were created, born and how we got to where we are today.”

            The children were for once silent, not saying anything.

            Then there was a short shaking gasp and it was Hikaru who started to cry, loud desperate wails.

            Kakashi knelt by Hikaru who was covering his face as he broke into sobs, he sounded completely heart-broken. “I-ah-I’m n-uh-not hu-uh-muh-man! I-ah-ah-I’m j-juh-just a-ah-a SCIENCE EXPERIMENT!!” He bellowed the last and tried to run but Kakashi grasped him and pulled him to his chest.

            Everyone else brought their children close to them, Mika had started to cry too but not as obvious, just small shuddering sniffles. Kana was holding his head, his eyes intense on the floor, his body tensed up. Tsubasa was staring up at her parents with a stunned hurt expression, her mouth moved but no words came out. Miki’s face was for once not blank, but now scarily hardened with an inner rage. He turned his back on his parents, electric green eyes bored at the wall. Sora looked up at her father, and paled when he just nodded at her.

            “Calm down Hikaru,” Kakashi rocked the struggling boy in slow gentle motions, his hands were kind but firm as he held him. “Just calm down. You’re not just a science experiment, you’re my son. Your name is Hikaru Hatake. You have parents, Iruka Umino and Kakashi Hatake. You were born, alive and well from your mother and raised at home. There’s nothing about that that’s a science experiment. Just calm down, stop crying, are you listening?”

            Hikaru nodded, gasping for air, his small chest heaving and his face soaked.

            “Good boy,” Kakashi held out his hand and Iruka handed him a tissue that Kakashi then used on Hikaru’s face. “Now listen here Hikaru, I have a very easy way to show you that you’re human. Ready?”

            Hikaru nodded, his black eyes still swimming with tears.

            Kakashi pulled a kunai out of the pack on his waist. Everyone’s stomach clutched, the wives nearly screamed but Kakashi slit his thumb, a droplet of red blood oozed out. “You see this? This is blood, nice red human blood. When you cut yourself, red blood will come out. You’re human Hikaru, because you bleed the same blood I do. My blood runs in your veins, understand?”

            Hikaru was still sniffling but nodded and took the kunai, his hands were shaking at first but Kakashi held his wrist still. “Just be gentle, you don’t have to stab yourself. Just a tiny cut will do. Go ahead.”

            Hikaru took in a deep gulp of air, steadied himself, then ran the tip of the knife over his thumb. His skin parted and thick black fluid trickled out.

            Hikaru screamed then fainted, Tsubasa also fainted with a soft sigh. Sora buried her face into Shikamaru’s chest, refusing to look or believe. Kana pissed his pants, his face frozen in fear. Miki backed away from the black droplet that was stained on the carpet, Mika covered her mouth but it was too late, she vomited, smearing the sick on her face and hands.

            For a good while, the Fourth Hokage waited as the children were cleaned, comforted and eventually calmed down. Minato understood that the children were upset at the truth of their birth but he hadn’t expected that they didn’t have _blood_. What was that viscous black fluid?

            He glanced at Tsunade who was juggling six folders, a file for each child, trying to find Hikaru’s to write it down. The door opened, Ibiki had arrived, his scarred face held hard as always.

            “Good timing Ibiki,” said Minato, standing away from leaning on the desk. “I’d like this to go in a cycle. Tsunade, you can take Hikaru first for the health evaluation, then give him to Ibiki. Then the twins, then Tsubasa, Sora and Kana. Everyone clear? You can wait in a meeting room until its your turn. That’s it on my end.”

            The families feeling vaguely disconnected from Earth, stunned and unhappy, were shuffled out to a large meeting room, then the Hatake family was whisked away.

            “So that’s it?” Naruto looked up at Gaara, whispering quietly so Miki and Mika couldn’t hear. “Are the children really…not human?”

            Gaara saw how the twin’s ears pricked, he knew they could hear. Also the other children were all staring at them, even from different sides of the room, everyone could hear.

            He said clearly, “They’re superhuman, in my mind. More than just human. Able to grow at an exponential rate, naturally able to harness chakra and perform jutsus without teaching, activating kekkei genkai’s at a young age and will probably master them quickly. In my mind, the children are going to be a new race of…super ninja.”

            Kana was the first one to start smiling then Miki started looking just a tad bit more excited. Mika, Tsubasa and Sora all still looked upset.

            Everyone liked Gaara’s idea of things, but it was really best to wait to hear the results of the examinations and learn the truth. Even if they were afraid of what the answer might be…


	2. The Evaluation 1: Hikaru Hatake

_The Hatake’s_

             Hikaru had succumbed to tears once they had entered the examination room, which looked more like a science lab than anything else. There was one steel examining table that was equipped with thick buckles for restraining the feet, legs, arms, chest and head. The one window had bars on it, while there were several white tables that were piled high with beakers, tubes and lots of papers. Two file cabinets and a small table that held many silver painful looking instruments.

            Iruka and Kakashi could understand and sympathized with why Hikaru immediately began to cry again, if they were his age they might cry seeing this place. It was creepy as heck.

            “Its okay,” assured Tsunade, placing her stack of folders down. “Trust me, this isn’t my regular room and neither myself or Ibiki will be using half of the stuff in here.”

            “Who’s room was this then?” Iruka picked up Hikaru and sat him down on the table then used his sleeve to clean the boy’s wet face. “Why can’t we be in your room?”

            “This is Orochimaru’s old office, separate from the one at the school.” Tsunade got out Hikaru’s folder. “I’ve been slowly and tirelessly going through all of his notes and files and folders to see if there’s anything that can help me out there. I hate feeling like I don’t know anything, especially seeing after every time I make a theory it gets debunked. I need to feel grounded, sure of myself.”

            “My blood is black!” Hikaru suddenly bust out, his chest heaving, eyes stark. “You can’t say I’m human! I’m not human! I don’t have red blood!”

            “I’m sure you are human,” said Tsunade, snapping on Latex gloves up to her elbow. “And that’s because when I took your blood when you were a baby to get a paternity test, your blood was ruby red, bright and shining. I don’t know why you just bled black right now and I’m determined to find out. Okay?”

            Hikaru’s eyes went wide and some hope shined. “I had red blood? When I was born, I was human?”

            “You’re still human Hikaru,” Kakashi insisted, now regretting he told Hikaru that being human meant having red blood. It looked like his words really effected his son, because now Hikaru didn’t think he was human anymore. “Trust us, you’ve always been and forever will be human, red blood or black, okay?”

            Hikaru didn’t respond but to sigh heavily, his shoulders slumped and his young face deeply depressed.

            Iruka put his hand on Hikaru’s shoulder, not saying anything as Tsunade came over with a needle, clearly to draw Hikaru’s blood. His heart pumped faster, this was it. Would Hikaru’s blood be red or black? He believed the same as Kakashi, that his son was human. Still, what was with the black fluid back there? Would the other children have black blood as well? What did it mean?

            Tsunade cleaned Hikaru’s arm with a wipe, at the bend of his elbow. Hikaru turned his face into Iruka’s chest, his body clenching up. Kakashi stared where the needle was slowly entering underneath Hikaru’s skin, puncturing his vein. He knew damn well that his son was human, black, red or blue blood, he didn’t care _what_ color. Hikaru was his son, period.

            Tsunade slowly pulled back the plunger and easily bubbling up in the barrel was bright red blood.

            “Come on Hikaru, look!” Iruka turned Hikaru’s head so he could see the red blood Tsunade was transferring into a test tube from his arm. “See, its red! Red as day!”

            Hikaru watched and his face lit up happily. “Its red, its red! I _am_ human! I must be!”

            Tsunade however was frowning. “Why was it black earlier? I’m…” She put the blood down then picked up a razor blade.

            Hikaru made a high-pitched squeal and moved as if to dive off the table but Iruka and Kakashi held him still.

            Iruka said, “Calm down Hikaru, you know she’s not going to hurt you. And even if she was, do you think we’d just stand by and let her? We’re right here Hikaru and as long as we’re with you, nothing is going to happen to you. Okay?” He kissed the pale boy’s forehead and stroking his thick gray hair.

            Tsunade picked up Hikaru’s thumb, the same thumb as before and slit open the cut he already had. Red blood dribbled  out. Her brows furrowed very deeply.

            Ibiki spoke up, his voice gruff, “There are many reasons why the child’s blood could have appeared black. The lighting, the variations of nutrients or even how much oxygen was or was not. I personally believe it was a fluke. The color of his blood is clearly red. Why it seemed black no longer matters. I have five other children to give intelligence tests, so can we speed this along just a bit?”

            Tsunade agreed, and she took Hikaru’s blood pressure, his temperature, listened to his heart and breathing, got his weight and height, then gave him a series of inoculations against common illness like chicken pox and the measles.

            “You’re perfectly healthy Hikaru,” she said in the end, closing her chart. “I don’t know about the black fluid that came out of your thumb but I’d suggest not worrying about it. However if you see it again,” she looked at the parents. “Please save it and bring me the sample immediately. Well, you’re up Ibiki.”

            “Good.”

            Ibiki took a swivel chair and sat down in front of Hikaru. He cracked all his knuckles and said, “Let’s begin. First, to you Iruka and Kakashi, you are not allowed to help him with his answers in anyway. Don’t make faces, noises, sound effects or hand gestures. In normal cases there is no one allowed in the room but the tester and tested, so if you think you can’t keep quiet, then I suggest you leave. Understood?”

            “Understood,” said Kakashi while Iruka nodded, knowing he’d have to work hard not to try and help. He was a teacher at the Academy, helping students learn was his job.

            Ibiki looked at Hikaru, who was straightening up. “As for you Hikaru, yes I’m testing your intelligence but its not a race and you’re not to try and impress me or outthink me. Just answer as truthfully as you can, you can take your time but if you don’t have the answer then just say so and I’ll move on. The questions aren’t timed unless I say so otherwise. Are you ready to begin?”

            Hikaru nodded, swallowing hard. “Yes sir, I’m ready.”

            Ibiki held his hand out and Tsunade handed him a chart and a stack of what seemed like large flash cards, they had pictures on them rather than words. The chart had Hikaru’s name on it. Hikaru gulped loudly but stayed calm.

            “Ok, we’ll start with the Verbal Comprehension.” Ibiki faced Hikaru, his scared face stiff and unyielding. “First test, Vocabulary. Hikaru, define the word antidisestablishmentarianism.”

            Hikaru’s jaw dropped, as did Iruka’s. Kakashi thought _well damn. Whelp, my son is definitely going to fail this test. Nothing I can do about it._

            Hikaru gulped and asked awkwardly, “A definition please?”

            Kakashi covered his face with one hand but didn’t speak. Iruka bit down on his lower lip, his eyes winced but he held back the urge to explain to Hikaru that _he_ was the one to give a definition. Hikaru clearly thought he was in a spelling bee, that Ibiki was asking him to _spell_ the word.

            Ibiki blinked once and said, “ _Define_ the word antidisestablishmentarianism. You tell me what that word means. Go on.”

            Hikaru’s mouth moved soundlessly then he whispered, “I’ve never even heard that word before…”

            Ibiki said, “Are you deciding not to answer? I can move onto the next question.”

            Kakashi wanted to say _just try_ and Iruka wanted to say _you are smart, you can do it_ but neither spoke like they had been told.

            Hikaru writhed his hands together but said, “Well, in the beginning of the word is the prefix _anti_ which means against or opposite. Then I hear the prefix _dis_ which is also against. Then the word establishment which means to begin or open. So I think that word means against opening something.”

            Kakashi felt for his son, he tried so hard. Maybe the next question would be simpler. Iruka was very proud of Hikaru, he knew the word “prefix” which he hadn’t taught him and the word establishment was very big for a kid who was only under a month old. He would do fine, just fine!

            “Alright,” Ibiki put an X mark on his chart and asked next in his flat gruff voice. “Define the word flabbergasted.”

            Hikaru’s eyes coasted from side to side, another word he didn’t know.

            Kakashi thought this test was already unfair, what kid knows the word _flabbergasted_ it was old-fashioned and stupid sounding. He hadn’t really had an opinion of Ibiki before but now he didn’t like him. At all.

            Iruka did wonder who exactly chose these set of words to test the intelligence of _children_. He was an adult and had never heard someone use the word _flabbergasted_ in conversation, not even once.

            Hikaru paused before saying, “Well, flabber sounds like gabber or jabber, which is talking a lot, so I think that word means when someone is talking too much and too fast.” He brightened up with a loud laugh. “I guess I’m flabbergasted all the time! That word describes me perfectly!”

            Kakashi barely managed not to groan. He knew Hikaru wasn’t stupid, he couldn’t be but did he inherit any type of brain at all? _No_ he wanted to shout. _Flabbergasted means to be amazed or astonished! Not talking too much or too fast! You’re making things up, if you don’t know then you don’t know!_

            Iruka was pleased with Hikaru, yes, he was wrong but he was using words he knew and making matches to try and help himself understand. That was a good technique and once Hikaru was in school he’d easily learn and be the top in the class.

            Ibiki put down another X mark and asked next, “Define the word flummox.”

            Hikaru said, “Flummox? Sounds kinda like pummel. So I think flummox means beating someone up.”

            Kakashi nearly hit the floor. _Okay, I give in! You’re stupid Hikaru, end of story! You’re dumb as a rock! I’m glad Sakumo isn’t here to see that I, his only son, gave him an idiotic grandson! Its okay Hikaru, I’ll make sure you get all the special help you need!_

            Iruka saw how Kakashi’s body had tightened and he was shaking his head, his hand still over his face. He got annoyed with his husband, okay, fine, Hikaru had answered wrong three times in a row but they already knew vocabulary wasn’t Hikaru’s strong point. Iruka was positive once Hikaru was asked different questions he’d start getting things right.

            Again with another X mark and Ibiki said, “That completes Vocabulary. Now we’ll move onto the section Similarities. Hikaru, how are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?”

            Hikaru said, “You just said the same word twice.”

            Kakashi had the very strong urge to just grab Hikaru and shake him hard. He wanted to scream, _NO! SON! PLEASE! THINK!_ Iruka was confused, if Hikaru liked to read so much, how come he was having such a hard time with words? Yet, Hikaru loved reading and he took it on himself to learn how to spell. Maybe Hikaru just knew that reading, words and spelling were difficult for him. He was just glad no one else was in the room to hear this. He had already seen Kana teasing Hikaru and he didn’t want anyone else to start up either.

            Ibiki said, “Is that your answer? I can move onto the next question.”

            Kakashi’s knuckles cracked. _Why can’t Ibiki at least try and explain Hikaru’s confusion? If the boy can’t tell that know and no are two different words, why not tell him then ask him to explain the similarity, which is the fact that they sound the same._

            Hikaru looked upset then angry before saying, “Alright then. You said how are the _words_ alike, meaning even though it sounded like you said the same thing twice, you really didn’t. You said two different words but the words just sounded exactly the same. That said, the words are similar because they’re pronounced the same way. That’s my answer.”

            Kakashi couldn’t help it, he hugged Hikaru tightly, just for a moment then let him go and gave Iruka a wide grin, even though his mask you could tell how happy and proud the man was. Iruka grinned back at him and winked.

            Ibiki said stiffly, “Kakashi, that’s your first warning. Another outburst like that and you can wait out the rest of the testing outside the room. Clear?”

            Kakashi nodded, “Clear.” He was annoyed but he had been given newfound faith in Hikaru’s intelligence. The boy was just a little slow, just a little but give him a chance and he stepped up. Hikaru just needed extra help but he’d be as smart as his old man in no time!

            Ibiki put a check mark on the chart, then asked Hikaru, “How are the words splash and plash similar?”

            Iruka bit his lip again. This one was kind of tricky. Of course Hikaru could say _they sound alike_ again or say _they’re spelled nearly the same_ but in fact, splashing and plashing were exactly the same thing.

            “Uh…” Hikaru sounded lost for a moment, then he said, “Well, they sound so similar, even what sounds like the same spelling, splash, plash, yeah, so maybe it’s the same thing, just one has an extra letter because it’s a bigger example. I mean, I know what splash is but I never heard of plash. So maybe splash is a really big splash and plash is a small splash. Get it?”

            Ibiki paused then put a check mark on the chart. “How are the words auditory and aural alike or similar?”

            “They both start with au,” said Hikaru.

            Kakashi was split. Yes, Hikaru was right about that _and_ he clearly could tell just by ear how the words were spelled, but he missed the real answer, which was the fact both words meant dealing with the ability of hearing.

            Ibiki put down an X mark on the chart and said, “That completes Similarities and concludes the Verbal Comprehension. Now I’ll start the section Perceptual Reasoning, beginning with Picture Concepts. Hikaru, I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a wheel, a pedal and a seat, you are saying they all go together to make a complete idea of a bicycle or whatever it may be. Let’s begin.”

            Ibiki held up a large card, it had three rows of pictures. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

            Kakashi knew the answer immediately but he also saw the tricks. The car and the steering wheel looked like they went together but they didn’t have a third match. The cat and the fish tank looked promising, but again lacked a third match. The only answer was the canoe, the lake and the life jacket. But Hikaru had never seen those three things before, so how would he know that they went together? His poor kid, he’d never get it right.

            Iruka had the same thoughts as Kakashi but he was sure that Hikaru would figure it out. Hikaru might be a little slow on the uptake but he’d get the right answer, if he just took his time and thought clearly.

            Hikaru stared at the rows then asked, “So I can only take one picture from each row? Like, I can’t say that the canoe, the car and the cell phone all go, because the cell phone and the car are on the same row?”

            “Exactly,” said Ibiki. “Pick one picture from each row so that the three pictures you chose all go together. Go ahead and pick. If you don’t think you know, we’ll move onto the next question.”

            Hikaru looked worried, scratched his chin then rubbed his knees, but he was gazing hard at the card, his eyes flicking between each row. Then his head slowly cocked to the side. “Well, first off, the banana doesn’t go with anything, it’s the only food on the card, so that’s out. The cat doesn’t go with anything besides maybe the fish tank but the fish tank doesn’t go with anything either, so those two are out. That leaves the boat on the top row. So if we keep the boat, we have to chuck the cell phone because that doesn’t go. And of course, the boat needs the water, so the car doesn’t go. That leaves the steering wheel and that strange jacket. A boat…boats have steering wheels but that boat doesn’t have a steering wheel, or sails or flags or anything. So that leaves that jacket. So I’ll say the boat, the water and the jacket go together.”

            Kakashi wanted to hug him but Ibiki gave him a look and he managed not to. Yes, Hikaru didn’t know the boat was a canoe and the _strange_ jacket was a life jacket, but it didn’t matter because he used the power of elimination to get the right answer and it was perfect. Maybe he hadn’t been giving Hikaru enough credit.

            Iruka clenched his fist but managed not to pump it in the air. Hikaru was very smart, he was, it just took him a little longer than other people. Besides, he got it right even enough he didn’t know the exact objects he was looking at. Once Hikaru was in the Academy, he’d fly by the other students in no time!

            Ibiki put down a check mark and moved on. After Perceptual Concepts was over, he said, “Now we’re moving onto Picture Completion. Hikaru, I’m going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can’t just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a car is missing a wheel, say wheel. If a tree is missing a branch, say branch. Understand?”

            Hikaru nodded and Ibiki held up a card. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations. Hikaru blinked and said, “There’s no Christmas tree.”

            Kakashi had no idea how Hikaru knew about Christmas, he was born in spring, there was no reason for him to know anything about the winter holiday. Iruka also wanted to know and decided to ask once the testing was over.

            Ibiki nodded, put down an check mark and held another card. This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

            Hikaru said, “There’s no dogs.”

            Ibiki put another check mark and held up a third card. It was the beach, with waves, the sun, beach chairs, volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

            Hikaru laughed. “There’s no people!”

            Ibiki wrote a check mark then said, “That concludes Perceptual Concepts. Now we start the last section, Working Memory. First test is Digit Span. Hikaru, I’m going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I’m not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Here’s the first series of numbers, repeat them in the same order. Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five. Repeat.”

            Hikaru repeated the numbers easily, a small smile on his face.

            Kakashi thought, _okay, maybe he’ll be good at a math. That’s good but he didn’t get it from me, I suck at math._

            Ibiki put a check mark on the chart and said, “Repeat these numbers forward. Two, three, five, six, seven, eight.”

            Hikaru repeated them, not having any trouble.

            Ibiki graded it with a check mark and said, “Repeat these numbers backwards. Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one.”

            Hikaru blinked at him and said, “Can you repeat those please?”

            Ibiki just slowly shook his head from side to side.

            Kakashi sighed in his mind. _Dammit, I get some hope then its snatched away. Really, why did I get strapped with the dumbest kid? Maybe he’s not dumb but he needs to get to school, pronto. Iruka was right, education comes before ninja skills. I don’t want Hikaru trying to throw a shuriken if he can’t even spell it or count how many he freaking has in his pack._

            Hikaru gulped but said, “Seventy-one, thousand one, two-fifty and hundred twelve, five-sixty, hundred five.”

            Kakashi straightened his body so he didn’t fall out on the floor. _Nope, no doubt about it. Hikaru is dumb, period._ Iruka was stunned. _Not only did he remember the numbers perfectly, he took Ibiki’s words literally, that he wanted them completely backwards. Rather than reversing just the numbers, he reversed the order of the numbers too. Hikaru…he’s incredible!_

            Ibiki paused, his hand hovered over the chart. It was as if he didn’t know whether to mark Hikaru wrong or right. After about a two second pause, Ibiki put a check mark with an extra slash through it, as if making both an check and a X. The parents figured that meant half credit.

            Ibiki said, “Repeat these numbers backwards Hikaru. Sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven, two hundred and ten.”

            Hikaru was quiet for a few moments then said, “Two hundred and ten, eleven, four, twenty-five, sixteen.”

            Kakashi’s mind was blown. _Wait a minute! Why, why did he change his answers? He gave a retarded response last time but now he did it right? Hold up…is Hikaru an idiot savant??_

            Iruka understood perfectly. Hikaru had seen how Ibiki graded him for the last question and changed how he answered this time, realizing he had been half wrong and half right. He realized that by reversing the order of the numbers was right but reversing the numbers themselves was wrong.

            Ibiki nearly smiled, but he flattened out his lip before it took place and put a check mark. “That concludes Digit Span. One last test is the Letter-Number Sequencing. Hikaru, I’m going to give you a series of letters and numbers, in random order and you are to repeat them back to me in a way that the numbers come first in order of highest to lowest and the letters come after in alphabetical order. I will not repeat the series, so you must listen carefully. Are you ready?”

            Hikaru nodded but he swallowed loudly.

            Ibiki said, “15. B. 12. G. 19. K. 22. L. Repeat these with the highest number first, lowest number next then the letters in alphabetical order.”

            Hikaru licked his lips then said, “22. 19. 15. 12.  B. G. K. L.”

            Kakashi let out a silent sigh of relief. _Well he’s got this much at least._ Iruka smiled. _Good boy Hikaru._

            Ibiki put a check mark. “Repeat this series Hikaru. 102. O. 189.  M. 234. R. 890. D.”

            Hikaru’s eyes went wide. He asked, “Could you repeat those please?”

            Ibiki just shook his head, his face firm.

            Hikaru winced then said, “Um…890. 234. 189. D. M. R.” He immediately blanched. “I missed some, wait.”

            “No,” said Ibiki, putting down an X mark. “You answered. One last series.”

            Kakashi had to hold back from shouting. _Hey! Let him fix his answer! He wasn’t finished yet!_ Iruka gave Kakashi a calming look. Hikaru was young and those were larger numbers. And Iruka realized that Hikaru had forgotten the ones that Ibiki had said first. That was a normal mistake, an honest one. Hikaru was fine, he had made more check marks then X marks anyway. He did well, very well.

            Hikaru looked put out but Ibiki said, “Repeat these series, remember, highest number first then the letters in alphabetical order. 1209. T. 2340. F. 1323. U. 1293. S. 4898. C.”

            Hikaru’s jaw dropped to his chest, his eyes wide.

            Kakashi flinched, nope, his son wasn’t going to get that one. Even Iruka felt a little downhearted. That was a lot to remember, a whole lot.

            Ibiki raised a brow as Hikaru didn’t answer. “Are you dismissing this question? This is the end of the test, so either answer or don’t and this will be completed.”

            Hikaru’s lips turned down then suddenly he pulled his mask up, hiding his lower jaw up to his nose. He said firmly, “I’m dismissing it.”

            Iruka was horrified and said, “Hikaru! How are you going to just give up without trying?”

            Kakashi felt the same, “Hey, I know it was a tough question but you don’t just quit. Try it, try and answer.”

            “Its too late,” said Ibiki, putting down an X mark. “The testing is completed. Go back to the meeting room and tell the twin’s family to come. It is their turn.”

            Iruka protested but Hikaru hopped off the table and quickly left, not looking back.

            Kakashi went after him, highly irritated and Iruka hurriedly followed, hoping an argument wasn’t about to break out.

            In the hallway, Kakashi was snatching for Hikaru’s arm but the younger boy kept dodging him, and then he flat out ran back to the meeting room, forcing his parents to run after him.

            Hikaru slammed into the room, shouting, “Twins, batter up!”

            Then he ran to the opposite side of the room, sat down on a chair and took out his book, hiding his face with it, despite the fact he already had his mask on.

            Everyone stared at the Hatake family’s dramatic entry, but Miki and Mika were standing up, they actually took hands, looking ready. Naruto and Gaara left with them.


	3. The Evaluation 2: Miki and Mika Subaku

_The Subaku’s_

             Mika went ice white at the sight of the testing room but Miki strode in like he owned the place. He unclipped his gourd and sat it down, it made a loud thunk, then he got up on the examining table, arms crossed and chin lifted.

            “Let’s do this,” he said, sounding as rough and ready as any gangster.

            Naruto and Gaara came close and Mika held Naruto’s hand.

            Ibiki was at a desk in the corner, looked like he was reading over a chart. Naruto narrowed his eyes to focus his eyesight and saw Hikaru Hatake was written on it, along with the word SCORE on top. Oh…he was grading Hikaru’s intelligence test. Naruto looked away, it wasn’t really his business.

            “Okay, Miki first then,” Tsunade got his chart and first thing, picked up a razor. “Your hand please Miki, specifically your thumb.”

            Miki offered it then said, “Are you going to cut my skin? Because then I have to move my sand.”

            Naruto blinked but Gaara said, “When did you cover your skin with a layer of sand Miki?”

            “The last time I was in the park,” he said, glancing at his father with the same bright pupil-less green eyes. “I figured if you do it, I should too.”

            “Like father like son,” smiled Naruto but he remembered one of the first times he saw Gaara with this protective layer of sand skin, and that wild crazed look in his eyes because Lee was hitting him fast enough to break it and physically touch him. Gaara had come a long way from being a psychotic murderer and he still hoped Miki wouldn’t turn out like that too.

            “Yes then please move it,” said Tsunade, ready to make a small cut.

            Miki’s skin cracked then sand trickled off his thumb, hovering around Miki’s wrist, waiting to be put back. Tsunade had in her other hand a small vial. She paused then sliced Miki’s thumb. Thick black fluid seeped out and slid directly into the vial.

            Mika screamed and collapsed against Naruto’s legs in a dead faint, Naruto held her up and began to fan her face. Miki went shock still, his body frozen.

            Tsunade capped the vial and put Miki’s name on it, then put it to the side. “Okay Miki, I’m going to give your check up now.”

            “Hold on!” Gaara stepped forward, angry. “So you’re just going to leave it at that? We don’t even know what that fluid is!”

            “Exactly,” said Tsunade. “I don’t know but I don’t have time to start testing it now. I have a very good idea that each of the other children will also have that same fluid and I want as many samples as I can. However, the fact is, only the first cut does it because when I took Hikaru’s blood a few minutes ago, it was red, not black. Also, I’m wondering if that fluid is only in the thumb, or if it comes from anywhere else. However I think its inhumane to start slicing children with razors all over their body, so I’ll stick with taking it from the thumb. Now, just relax Gaara because none of these children appear to be sick or unhealthy. Let me do this, okay?”

            Gaara was irritated but he stepped back and the parents watched as Miki got his temperature taken, his blood pressure, heart beat and breathing, weight and height, then his shots, which he had to move his sand for again. His attitude had greatly changed from being rough and ready to now he was quiet and sullen. The sight of that black fluid had done something to him that his parents couldn’t really understand. Even though they were both Jinchūriki, they had never bled something other than red blood.

            Mika was still unconscious and Tsunade slit her thumb, taking the black fluid that dripped out into a vial and putting her name on it. Then she woke Mika with a shot of adrenaline. Once Mika was up, Tsunade gave her a check up.

            “They’re both healthy,” she said, smiling at the Subaku’s. “And I’ll have a report on the black fluid as soon as I’ve tested it. Ibiki, your turn.”

            “Alright,” he came forward, with two charts and large flashcards. “There’s three sections to this test and each section has two tests to it. Now because you are twins, I’m going to ask one question for Miki, he answers then I ask a separate question for Mika, then a last question I want you both to answer, the first one who speaks gets the point, alright?”

            Naruto didn’t like that. “So you mean you’re trying to see which twin answers faster, who is smarter than the other?”

            Ibiki said, “As the parents, you aren’t allowed to try and help them with answers. You aren’t to make any facial expressions, hand gestures or sound effects, no hugging or kissing. Usually with testing its only the tester and the tested, so if you think you can’t keep quiet then I suggest you leave. Understand?”

            Naruto didn’t appreciate how Ibiki had completely ignored his question but Gaara put his hand on his arm and they both said, “We understand,” almost like they were twins themselves.

            “Alright. First section is Verbal Comprehension, and the first test is Vocabulary. Miki, then Mika, I’m going to give a word and you define it, tell me what the word means. If you do not know, you can dismiss the question and I’ll move forward. Miki first. Define the word antidisestablishmentarianism.”

            Naruto said, “Okay, whoa! That’s not fair! Who the heck knows that word, let alone a twenty-one days old boy!”

            Ibiki looked at him firmly. “That’s your first warning Naruto. If you do it again, you can sit outside for the rest of the examination. Miki, answer. You can take your time but if you don’t know, you can dismiss it then I’ll move on.”

            Miki’s jaw clenched, he looked angry then said, “It sounds like…being anti…or against…towards disestablishment. So being against the breaking up of an establishment.”

            Ibiki put down a check mark on Miki’s chart.

            Gaara nodded, murmuring, “Good job Miki.”

            Ibiki gave Gaara a hard look. “That’s _your_ first warning Gaara. Speak out again and _you_ can sit outside until the testing is complete. Understand?”

            Gaara was irritated but said, “Understood.”

            Naruto took his hand and squeezed, realizing they’d both need help hindering their tongues. True Gaara doesn’t talk that much but this was already painful.

            “Mika,” Ibiki looked at her. “Define the word flabbergasted.”

            Mika said, “To be very surprised or shocked.” Her voice was peppy and sweet, sounding very much like how Naruto’s Sexy Jutsu woman would be if she was a child. Gaara despaired when Mika would grow up and taken on that husky sexy coo. Not his daughter! If she started acting out and coming onto men he’d kill anyone who looks at her.

            Naruto glanced at him warningly, feeling the suddenly dark intense aura surrounding his husband. Gaara pushed it down and focused on the task at hand.

            Ibiki gave Mika a check.

            Then he said, “Alright, this last question is for the both of you to answer. Whoever speaks first gets the point, _if_ he or she is right. If you’re wrong, the other twin gets the chance to answer. Okay, twins, define the word flummox.”

            Miki frowned hard but Mika said, “To be extremely confused or baffled.”

            Naruto and Gaara were both shocked at how quickly Mika had answered, so fast! Naruto had noticed how eagerly Mika took to reading, before Miki had started but Miki hadn’t taken a breath before Mika spoke up.

            Ibiki gave Mika a check and Miki an X mark. Miki’s eyes slowly narrowed into freezing cold slits but he didn’t speak.

            “That concludes Vocabulary, now we move onto Similarities. For this test, I will give two words and you are to tell me how the words are similar or alike. Miki first. How are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?”

            Miki’s voice was low and growly, “They’re the same word.”

            Naruto had to squeeze his jaw shut to not say anything and Gaara had sealed his mouth with a strip of sand, they both squeezed each other’s hand very strongly. If they had been holding someone’s hand they would have broken bone but the two Jinchūriki were much stronger than anyone else and did not hurt each other.

            Ibiki put an X mark on Miki’s chart and continued, “Mika, how are the words _splash_ and _plash_ similar?”

            “Splashing and plashing are the same thing,” she said. “A plash is just a light splash or just the sound of a splash. They’re also spelled very similar, just the addition or subtraction of the letter s.”

            Naruto was torn, because he was very proud that Mika was clearly very smart but that dark ugly look coming over Miki’s face was starting to frighten him. Gaara felt the same and he was gathering his sand at the base of his feet and around his waist, readying to protect Ibiki should Miki attack him. He could feel the rage that was building up in Miki’s aura.

            Ibiki wrote a check mark on Mika’s chart, then said, “Ok, this is for the both of you twins. How are the words auditory and aural similar or alike?”

            Miki shouted, “EARS! HEARING!”

            Mika clasped her ears. “Ow Miki you nearly deafened me!”

            Ibiki gave Miki the check mark and Mika the X mark, now Miki smiled though it was rather grim and definitely a touch evil. Naruto and Gaara shared glances but didn’t speak. Was Miki really going to be psychotic? But why? Gaara had his insanity broken when his uncle Yashamaru attempted to kill him, it was the final straw during his traumatic childhood. But Miki didn’t have anything like that, his life had been very happy so far despite some ups and downs. Or was it simply that Miki was very competitive, like Naruto, only he was more violent-natured, kind of like Gaara.

            “That concludes the Verbal Comprehension section. Now its Perceptual Reasoning and we start with Picture Concepts. I have three cards, each card has three rows of pictures. Out of each row, you pick one picture that as a whole will all go together to make a single image or idea. For example, if you get three pictures of a bowl, a collar and a chew bone, you’re making the completely idea of a pet dog. So the first picture, Miki you answer. Second picture, Mika you answer. Then for the last picture, whoever answers first gets the point. If you’re wrong, the other twin gets the chance. We clear?”

            “Got it,” said Mika while Miki nodded.

            Ibiki looked at the parents. “Remember not to say anything, no sound effects or facial expressions or hand gestures. You two already have warnings, so do it again and you’re out. Now, Miki, let’s start.”

            Ibiki held up a large card with three rows of images, each row had three pictures. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

            Miki was quiet, then said, “The cat, the water and the fish tank.”

            Naruto could see why he said so, the cat likes fish and fish live in the water. Made sense.

            Gaara only didn’t shake his head because he didn’t want to be kicked out. Miki was wrong. The answer was the canoe, the water and the life jacket, they all directly made one single picture. The cat, water and fish tank weren’t perfectly connected, not enough to be the answer.

            Ibiki gave Miki an X mark. “Mika, your turn. Try this card.” He reached for another card.

            Miki’s face reddened. “Why did you give me an X? That was right, it was right! Fish live in the water, they live in a fish tank and cats like to eat fish! It fits! I was right!”

            Ibiki gave Miki a calm cool look. “I have many more evaluations to give and grade as well as I have the Fourth Hokage waiting on my results. I can’t waste time by explaining this to you. Its Mika’s turn now. After her, then you’ll have a chance to make up the grade, understand?”

            Miki crossed his arms tight, the parents could almost see the steam blowing out of his ears. His jaw gritted but he didn’t scream or even attack Ibiki. He just jerkily nodded his head and didn’t speak again.

            “Good.” Ibiki held up the card. The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

            Naruto figured it was the jelly beans, the ramen and the sofa. Two were food and you sit on a chair while you eat. Definitely.

            Gaara thought the answer should be the straw, the rake and the garden shears but the instructions said one picture from each row. This one was tricky.

            Mika rubbed her forehead with two fingers before saying, “The first row I pick the rake. The second row, I pick the lawnmower. The third row, I pick the garden shears. These all have to do with gardening and upkeep of a lawn or landscaping.”

            Naruto and Gaara looked at each other, both stunned and kind of unnerved. Naruto personally didn’t want his daughter to be so smart she was smarter than him, but only because it would be difficult to raise a smart-ass brat. She must have gotten her brains from Minato. Gaara was glad his daughter was intelligent, that would mean its easier to tell her something because she’d understand it right away, a plus when it comes to raising, but what if she got so smart she was trying to outthink and outwit him? That wouldn’t be allowed.

            Ibiki gave Mika a check mark. Then he said, “Okay, last one. Miki and Mika, you both answer. The first one to speak I’ll give the point. If you’re wrong, the next twin gets a shot. Ok, here.”

            Ibiki lifted up a card. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

            Mika answered before anyone else could breathe, “The first picture in each three rows. It represents school, learning.”

            Miki stood up from the table, Gaara tensed to protect anyone from his attack but he just clipped his gourd on his back and headed to the door. Gaara covered the doorknob with sand. “Get back here right now.”

            “No,” Miki faced his parents squarely. “I’ve had enough. Mika is smarter than me, clearly. If its not that she’s smarter, she at least thinks quicker than I do or can problem solve faster than I can. She’s barely made a single X, all of her answers are right besides _one_ time. I’m sick of sitting here and getting it rubbed in my face. I’m going back to the room, let Mika finish this stupid evaluation. You can tell the Fourth Hokage I’m dumb as a rock.” He wrenched the door open, somehow sending Gaara’s sand flying in all directions and he walked out, not looking back.

            Gaara gathered his sand back to his gourd and said, “Naruto, stay with Mika. I’ll go talk to him. Ibiki, don’t grade the little you have on Miki, just put down his evaluation is incomplete. I’d suggest we let him try again, only this time alone.”

            Ibiki nodded and Naruto called out, “Be careful Gaara! If Miki attacks you…” he swallowed hard.

            Gaara left quickly, saying, “I know and that won’t happen.”

            Mika frowned, the conversation going over her head. However the two Jinchūriki knew exactly what they were talking about. They were afraid that with some training, Miki and Mika too eventually, would be stronger than their parents. So far Miki was showing it the most, with his excellent control over sand when not once had Gaara even shown him how. And now he was showing exceptional physical strength, strong enough to overcome Gaara’s sand with _one hand_. Now couple that with Miki’s short temper and his natural violent tendencies…he could be unstoppable.

            This wasn’t good.

            Miki hadn’t reached the room by the time Gaara caught up with him. Gaara took Miki’s elbow, the boy pulled away but Gaara didn’t let go. “We need to talk, privately, okay?”

            Gaara steered Miki down the hall and into a stairwell, no one was there. “First, I want to say I completely understand how you feel.”

            Miki snapped, “How can you? You’re not made to look stupid or crazy or like you don’t know how to think or behave!”

            Gaara blinked then said, “Miki, I’ve never told you about my past, have I?”

            Miki stood up straighter, his eyes wide. “What…a past? As in…something bad?”

            Gaara leaned on the banister, wondering how to put this lightly. Neither of the children knew that their parents are Jinchūriki, of their traumatic childhoods. Oh yes, Gaara knew exactly what it was like to look like he was crazy, unable to think like a rational human being or how to behave without murdering anyone who talked to him.

            Miki placed a hand on his father’s knee. “Dad? What aren’t you telling me?”

            “Gaara? Miki?” Naruto’s voice called and the stairwell door opened. “Are you guys in here?”

            “Miki!” Mika jumped on her brother and hugged him. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you Miki and certainly not be snobby or something! You are smart, you are! You’re smarter than me Miki! Look at how great you are controlling sand! Have you seen me control sand, even a little bit?”

            Miki’s brow cinched. “Well…no.”

            Mika put her hands on her hips. “That’s right, you control sand so well you’ll be better at it than Daddy! And you’re really strong, didn’t you see how you pulled the door nearly off its hinges? Have you seen _me_ do something like that?”

            Miki slowly shook his head, but pride was lighting up in his eyes. “Nuh uh, not really.”

            Gaara sighed with relief that Mika was able to encourage her brother like that, maybe he wouldn’t have to reveal his past after all. He looked to Naruto. “Did Mika finish the evaluation?”

            Naruto shook his head. “No, she refused. Mika wanted to see her brother, not answer more mind-numbing questions. Her words, not mine.”

            Miki was struggling to get Mika off him, as she planted large wet sister kisses all over his face despite his loud complaints.

            Gaara said, “Well they have to finish, the Hokage wants his results.”

            “Okay you two, quit it,” Naruto broke them apart. “Let’s go ahead and finish the evaluations, okay? And we’ll do it separately the way Miki wants it.”

            “No, its okay.” Miki took a calming breath, his arm wiping off sister saliva from his cheeks and forehead. “I feel better now. Mika’s right, I am smart. And I don’t need some stupid government test to try and tell me that. I don’t care if I make a million X marks, I know my worth. I’ll be great a ninja, just like my parents!”

            Naruto hugged Miki and this time he allowed it, while Gaara rubbed his hair, it was shaggy and thick like Gaara’s, but felt as soft as cotton, like Naruto’s.

            So the Subaku’s went back to the evaluation room, where Ibiki was impatiently waiting for them. However he didn’t ask any questions, he said, “Let’s pick up where we left off. I’m assuming we’ll go back to the Miki, Mika, both format?”

            Miki nodded. “Yup.” He took off his gourd and hoped onto the table, then took Mika’s hands and helped her up, though she didn’t really need help. Miki was only two inches taller than Mika but he was also the shortest of the male children. Gaara held hopes that Miki would grow tall, both of his grandfathers are tall.

            “Okay then,” Ibiki consulted his notes. “We’ve completed Picture Concepts, now we move onto Picture Completion. I’m going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can’t just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a cat is missing a tail, don’t just point at the blank spot, say tail. Or if a sky is missing the sun, say that there is no sun. Okay, ready? Miki first.”

            Ibiki helped up a card. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations, like a star, lights and baubles.

            Miki’s face was dumbfounded. “Uh…what….?”

            Naruto really wanted to speak up. _This isn’t fair! Miki is a spring baby, he’s never heard of Christmas! We haven’t celebrated any holidays yet, let alone a winter holiday! He probably doesn’t even know what snow is!_

            Ibiki said, “If you don’t know, dismiss the question and we’ll move on.”

            Miki’s fists clenched but he said, “It looks like…a celebration.”

            “It is,” said Ibiki. “But there’s a vital part of the celebration that’s missing from the picture. Can you tell me what it is?”

            Miki swallowed. “I see…decorations. Stuff to decorate something else.”

            Ibiki’s eyes narrowed a centimeter. “Yes, now tell me what that something else is. What is the missing element in this picture?”

            Gaara held his tongue but he really wanted to whisper, _its a tree_ to Miki. However, it was impossible for him to know that, there’s no way he could possibly know.

            “Uh…” Miki’s eyes went wide. Then he blustered, “Lamp! Mantel! Flower! Plant! Bush! Tree??”

            Ibiki gave Miki a check mark then said, “Okay, Mika’s turn.”

            Only Gaara’s hand around Naruto’s hand managed to stop the man from hugging Miki. Yes, Miki had figured it out but only by spewing out a bunch of random items possible to decorate and eventually actually hit the jackpot.

            “Mika,” Ibiki held up a card. “What is missing from this picture?” This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

            “Pets,” said Miki.

            “And last, for the both of you,” Ibiki held up the last picture of a beach scene, complete with waves, a sun, beach chairs volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

            “Sand,” cheered Miki.

            Ibiki gave him an X mark. “Okay, Mika your turn.”

            Miki blustered, “Hey, that wasn’t my answer! I was just saying! There was sand _everywhere_! Clearly that wasn’t my answer!”

            “I asked a question and you said sand,” said Ibiki tirelessly. “You answered incorrectly. Its Mika’s turn. Mika, your answer.”

            “There’s no people,” she said softly, giving Miki a worried look as Ibiki gave her a check mark.

            Miki looked to his parents. “Wherever that place is, I demand we go.”

            Gaara frowned. “Miki, if you stole the beaches sand, first of all you’d get in trouble and secondly, your gourd will be impossible to carry.”

            Miki’s eyes light up. “I don’t want to steal it. I want to make the hugest sand castle in history!”

            “You want that much sand, you should go to a desert,” said Naruto dryly.

            Ibiki coughed. “Back to the evaluation please?  That ends Perceptual Reasoning, we now start Working Memory. The first section is Digit Span. I’m going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I’m not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Miki first, then Mika, then the last one you both try. Whoever is right gets the point. Ready? Miki, repeat these numbers forward: Two, three, five, six, seven, eight.”

            Miki looked vaguely insulted. “Two, three, five, six, seven, eight.”

            Gaara understood, it wasn’t like he was a preschooler.

            Ibiki gave him a check mark. “Mika, your turn. Repeat these numbers backwards, Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one.”

            Naruto only didn’t say anything because Gaara warningly stepped on his foot, not hard but just a pinch of pain. _Now how is that fair?? He asked Miki a simple question but Mika’s is a lot harder!_

            Mika’s eyes went wide, but she said the numbers.

            Ibiki gave her a check mark.

            “Okay, last set. Repeat these numbers backwards, Miki first. Sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven, two hundred and ten.”

            Miki said, “Ten, two hundred, eleven, four, five, twenty, sixteen.”

            Gaara winced and Ibiki gave him a firm look so Gaara managed not to say anything. Naruto sighed internally. It wasn’t like he had ever sat down with Miki and taught him numbers, so maybe he didn’t know some numbers went together, such as one hundred _and_ ten, not one hundred, ten and twenty-five, not twenty and five.

            Ibiki gave him an X mark. “Mika, your turn.”

            Miki looked angry. “Whoa, what? Why’d I get an X mark?? I said the numbers, I said them!”

            Ibiki was the one who looked annoyed now. “Look, Miki. I can’t take the time to sit with you and explain why you get your answers wrong. If you really want any help, go to school, okay? Now, Mika. Your turn. Repeat the numbers backward, sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven, two hundred and ten.”

            Mika said, “Two hundred and ten, eleven, four, twenty-five, sixteen.”

            Ibiki gave her a check mark.

            Miki exploded, jumping up and stabbing a finger at Ibiki. “HEY! She said the same thing I said! The same numbers! You’re a cheater, no, you’re playing favorites! Yeah, Mika is a pretty girl and all but you’re old enough to be her father! You’re disgusting!”

            Naruto couldn’t help it, he bust out laughing. Miki thought Ibiki was playing favorites because he thought Mika was pretty? As if! Ibiki was as interested in romance as a dog was interested in fluid dynamics. He didn’t care about anything but work.

            Ibiki’s face blushed red but it was just anger and insult. “Miki Subaku, you have one more outburst like that and you’re outside for good and I’ll give you failing grades for the rest of the evaluation. Now sit _down_ and shut _up_.”

            Gaara said warningly, “Watch your tone when talking to my son Ibiki. Miki, sit down and try to stay focused, alright? The fact is, you said twenty and five instead of twenty-five. You said one hundred, ten instead of one hundred _and_ ten, those are two different numbers, understand? Come on, let’s finish this, there’s three other children who need evaluating. Ibiki, continue please.”

            Ibiki wiped the sweat on his forehead with his arm, then said, “We’re at the end of the test, this is the last section, Letter-Number Sequencing. I’m going to give you a series of letters and numbers, in random order and you are to repeat them back to me in a way that the numbers come first in order of highest to lowest and the letters come after in alphabetical order. I will not repeat the series, so you must listen carefully. Again, Miki first, then Mika, then you both try. Miki, repeat these with the highest number first, lowest number next then the letters in alphabetical order. Ready?”

            Miki nodded, his face set hard.

            Ibiki said, “15. B. 12. G. 19. K. 22. L.”

            Miki said, “15. 12. 19. 22. B. G. K. L.”

            Naruto clenched his fists so he didn’t slap himself in the face. _Come on Miki! He didn’t say to…UGH! Okay, maybe Miki just isn’t too bright when it comes to the books, he must have gotten that from me. He’ll be an amazing ninja though, that is clear. A ninja who needs special help. UGH!_

            Gaara understood that Miki was just confused by the instructions, but at least he tried and that’s what counted. He’d have to make sure to help Miki with his schoolwork once he entered the Academy.

            Ibiki gave Miki an X mark. Miki’s face was contorted, he was making loud grunting sounds as he struggled not to start screaming. Naruto realized that it wasn’t that Miki had anger problems, he was just like himself! How many times did he as a child get enraged and start screaming once people looked down on him, or enemies believed he was worthless. He had some troubles speaking without yelling too. Miki didn’t like having his faults or his lack of smarts shoved in his face and it made him angry. Naruto would comfort him once the evaluations was over.

            Ibiki said, “Mika, your turn. Repeat these, remember, the numbers in order from _highest_ to _lowest_ and the letters in _alphabetical_ order.  102. O. 189.  M. 234. R. 890. D.”

            Mika nodded and said, “890. 234. 189. 102. D. M. O. R.”

            Ibiki gave her a check mark. “Alright, very last question. Twins repeat this series. Remember, numbers highest to lowest, letters alphabetical order. Also, I’m not going to repeat the series, so listen carefully. Also, if you don’t know the answer, you can dismiss it and that’ll end this evaluation. Ready?”

            The twins nodded.

            Ibiki said, “Repeat this series. 1209. T. 2340. F. 1323. U. 1293. S. 4898. C.”

            Naruto thought, _I dismiss this one!_

            Gaara thought, _this is extremely unfair. What twenty-one days old kid would be able to solve this? I’m eighteen and even I don’t want to bother with this!_

            Miki and Mika looked at each other then back at Ibiki. “We dismiss this.”

            “Okay,” Ibiki gave them both X marks. “And that concludes this evaluation. Please go back to the room and tell the Uchiha’s its Tsubasa’s turn.”

            The Subaku’s left the room, letting out heaving sighs of relief. Miki said matter-of-factly, “Well that test was complete bullshit. That guy Ibiki is an asshole.” 

            Naruto stumbled and would have hit the floor if Gaara didn’t hold him up. The parents looked at the bad mouthing preteen. “WHAT did you just say?”

            Miki blinked at them. “That test was complete bullshit. That guy Ibiki is an asshole. What? You didn’t hear me the first time? OW!” Miki held his pulsing lip. “Dad! You said hitting was wrong!”

            “Yeah, excessive hitting is wrong and hitting because you’re angry is wrong,” said Gaara. “But as a parent, I hit you in the mouth to teach you a lesson. Don’t talk like that around your mother or your sister. Keep it clean, okay?”

            Naruto protested. “Gaara! He shouldn’t talk like that at all!”

            Gaara shrugged. “Its his mouth, he should be able to curse if he wants to. Just not around you or his sister, he’ll be polite. Got it?”

            Miki nodded and licked the lump on his bottom lip. It slid away, leaving his lip as clear and smooth as before. Gaara and Naruto caught eyes. Not only was Miki extremely strong, he just healed in a matter of seconds. The Jinchūriki heal that fast because of their inner tailed beasts, but Miki didn’t have a tailed beast or…did he? Tsunade once mentioned the Kyuubi leaving to get his own body, then Minato said the Ichibi and Kyuubi mixing. Was it possible? Did the two tailed beasts effectively _mate_ and give Miki his own inner beast? And what about Mika? She hadn’t shown much prowess with jutsu, besides making a few shadow clones. How much more did they _not_ know about their own children?

            Mika opened the door and walked in, she smiled nicely at Tsubasa. “Its your turn. Don’t worry, its easy as _hell_.” With that, she skipped over to Hikaru. “Hi, what are you reading?”

            Neji and Sasuke stood up, they both took Tsubasa’s hands and walked out together.


	4. The Evaluation 3: Tsubasa Hyuiha

_The Uchiha’s_

            Tsubasa whined once they were in the room. It was pretty drastic, with the strapped table, the strange painful looking instruments, even the singular window with the bars on it.

            “Ew! Yuck! What is this place! Gross!” She turned to walk back out but Sasuke picked her up then sat her on the table.

            “Sit,” he said firmly when she moved to get up. “Tsunade, I do agree, what’s with this choice of location?”

            “This is Orochimaru’s old research room,” said Tsunade, holding a chart that held Tsubasa’s name on it. In the corner at a desk was Ibiki, clearly grading papers. Both Neji and Sasuke had superior vision, able to see the chart with Miki’s name on it was covered in X marks.

            Sasuke couldn’t help but smirk. _Stupid Naruto, stupid child._

            Neji also wasn’t surprised but he did see Mika’s chart had a lot of check marks. He smiled. _Tsubasa is going to get straight passing grades. With geniuses like myself and Sasuke as her parents, she’s no doubt the smartest child out of the bunch._

            “Alright,” said Tsunade. “Before I do anything else, I’m going to do this.” Tsunade help up a razor.

            Tsubasa screamed and dove to hide behind Neji, not before the room saw her eyes change a vivid red. She didn’t have the tomoe markings of the Sharingan but that was the Sharingan color no doubt.

            Neji clasped her close to him. “Tsunade! What’s the meaning of this??”

            Tsunade’s lips twisted. “Honestly, do you think I was about to slit her throat or something? I want to cut her thumb, that’s all. Its just a test.”

            Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. “A test of what? If she has pain nerves?”

            “No,” said Tsunade. “To see if she has black blood like Hikaru. And maybe I shouldn’t say this, but when I slit both Miki’s and Mika’s thumbs, they both also had the same black fluid. I’m positive Tsubasa has it too, but I have to be sure and I have to be able to test it. So if you please?”

            Neji helped Tsubasa back onto the table, laying her back. Tsubasa covered her eyes with one arm, not looking. Tsunade held the razor and a vial. She slit open Tsubasa’s thumb and a thick black droplet rolled out into the vial. Tsunade capped it and wrote Tsubasa’s name on it, then took it away.

            Tsubasa sat up and looked at her thumb, which was now bleeding red but then the cut closed, sealed, healed.

            Neji and Sasuke started at each other. Sure, that was a tiny cut, but no one healed _that_ fast. Neji had seen Naruto heal incredibly fast from small wounds like that but that was because he was a Jinchūriki. Tsubasa was definitely _not_ a Jinchūriki. However the parents also remembered what Gaara had said just an hour or so ago: _They’re superhuman, in my mind. More than just human. Able to grow at an exponential rate, naturally able to harness chakra and perform jutsus without teaching, activating kekkei genkai’s at a young age and will probably master them quickly. In my mind, the children are going to be a new race of…super ninja._

            Tsunade came back and started the health check, taking Tsubasa’s temperature, her breathing, her heartbeat, measured her height and weight but when she came at Tsubasa with a needle, Tsubasa tried to hit her. Sasuke caught her wrist and revealed her hand was held with the fingers pressed tightly together and pointed.

            Neji gasped. _The Gentle Fist style. She’s already learning it?? But I didn’t teach her, and neither did anyone else._

            “Calm down Tsubasa,” said Sasuke. “She’s going to give you a shot, it won’t hurt.”

            “Just a little pinch,” said Tsunade, curious at how quickly Tsubasa reacted. Once she saw the razor, she fled, but Tsunade didn’t make any motions to cut or attack her with it, but she immediately ran. Also with the needle, there’s no reason for Tsubasa to fear the needle it wasn’t like she had seen one before, but her first reaction was to try and attack her. Also, again with the eye change. Was Tsubasa somehow predicting the pain before it happens? But the Sharingan wasn’t a predicting technique, it was a copying technique, copying extremely fast.

            Neji kissed Tsubasa’s face, then held out her arm. Tsubasa whined and pulled away but Tsunade stuck her with the needle and gave her the shot, saying, “See? That wasn’t so bad. And just a few more.”

            Tsubasa pouted heavily while she got her shots, but she didn’t cry.

            “Ok she’s healthy,” said Tsunade. “Ibiki, you’re up.”

            Ibiki stood up from the desk and picked up a chart that had Tsubasa’s name on it. He sat down in front of her, he looked really tired.

            Neji said, “Do you want to finish the evaluations later? Or maybe tomorrow? Three today and three tomorrow?”

            “No,” said Ibiki. “The Hokage wants his results, today is the only day. Besides, I’m fine. Its just that Miki Subaku is a handful. He’s worse than his parents combined. He’ll turn their hair gray before the week is out, if not sooner.”

            Sasuke’s brows went up and Neji kind of figured that, having the hotheaded Naruto as a mother and Gaara wasn’t always the calm nice guy he is now. He must have inherited their wild personalities in spades.

            “Okay, Tsubasa,” Ibiki faced her. She slid her eyes away from him and put her thumb in her mouth. Sasuke put her hand down. She snatched her hand away from him and stubbornly put her thumb back in her mouth, sucking on it in a bored way, her eyes not meeting Ibiki’s.

            “Tsubasa,” Sasuke plucked her hand down. “Enough. You may be twenty-one days old but you’re not a baby anymore either. You look like twelve, so act like it. No more thumb sucking, understand?”

            Tsubasa jerked at his hold but he didn’t let go. “Stop it! Leave me alone! Let me go! Stop!”

            Ibiki pinched his brow, sighing.

            “Tsubasa please,” Neji tried to pacify the situation. “Please stop whining and pay attention to Ibiki, okay? Can you do that? You can suck your thumb while you sleep if you want, but not when you’re awake. Come on, be a big girl, okay?”

            “Nuuuh~!” She whined and tried to lay down, using her other hand to put her thumb in her mouth.

            Neji sat her up then took that hand, holding it securely, while Sasuke was holding her other hand. “AAARGH!!” Tsubasa full out screamed and threw herself back on the table, kicking her legs and bucking her body, throwing a complete tantrum because her parents wouldn’t let her suck her thumb.

            Neji was mortified. _Oh God, she really is spoiled! When she was a cute little baby I just held her all the time, fed her and let her sleep, her life was being catered to. But when she realized she couldn’t walk, she made herself grow up so she could. However that’s just her body, physically she is at the size and age of a twelve year old but mentally…she’s still just a whiny baby!_

            “Tsubasa dammit!” Sasuke jerked her daughter to sitting up. “You stop that right now young lady or I’m banning you from television! No more Blue’s Clues for you, no more Barney or Sesame Street or any of it! Got that?”

            Tsubasa whimpered, “No…but Daddy!”

            “No buts!” Sasuke crossed his arms. “Now you stop acting out and pay attention or you can’t watch television for two weeks! I’ll make it longer if you whine even one more time, understand?”

            Tsubasa nodded, her lower lip rolled out almost to touch her chin. “Yes sir.”

            Ibiki sighed heavily. First he had to deal with a loud-mouthed Miki, now he’s got the whiny princess. And he still had two more kids after this. God, why did it have to be _him_?

            “Ok,” he sighed and started. “Let’s begin. First, Sasuke and Neji, you are not allowed to help Tsubasa with her answers in anyway. Don’t make faces, noises, sound effects or hand gestures. In normal cases there is no one allowed in the room but the tester and tested, so if you think you can’t keep quiet, then I suggest you leave. Understood?”

            Neji and Sasuke nodded, they weren’t worried, even though Tsubasa acted out a little just then, she would get everything right easily, she was going to be a genius just like her parents.

            Ibiki looked at Tsubasa, who’s eyes were focused on the floor, she was swinging her legs back and forth, flexing her toes in her white slippers.

            Sasuke nudged her. “Tsubasa, give Ibiki your attention.”

            She sighed and glanced at him, her pale lavender eyes held his for a second before she looked away again. All over her face was boredom and disinterest.

            Ibiki said, “Ok, Tsubasa, I’m evaluating your intelligence, but that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to try to race to get the right answer or to think ahead of me. Just answer the questions to the best of your ability and if you don’t know, you can dismiss them and I’ll move on. Are you ready?”

            Tsubasa yawned and covered her mouth, then nodded without saying anything.

            Neji could only mentally kick himself in the pants for not teaching Tsubasa _anything_. She was the size of a twelve year old with the mental and emotional range of a two year old.

            “We’ll start with Verbal Comprehension, and the first section is Vocabulary. Tsubasa, I’m going to give you a word and you are to define it, or tell me what it means. Tsubasa, the first word I want you to define is antidisestablishmentarianism.”

            Tsubasa yawned again and said, “I dismiss it. Next.”

            Neji stuttered, “W-what? T-s-Tsubasa! You didn’t even try!”

            Ibiki gave her an X mark. “Alright, next question.”

            “No wait!” Sasuke said, “Ibiki, give her another chance! She’s just nervous, that’s all.”

            “No,” said Ibiki. “She answered. Tsubasa, define the word flabbergasted.”

            Tsubasa leaned back as if to lay down again but her parents sat her up. “RUGH!” She pulled away from them, trying to lay down again but they wouldn’t let her. “Stop it! I’m tired! I want a nap! Let me nap!”

            “Not right now Tsubasa!” Neji was getting upset now. “You’re taking a test, you have to pay attention. You can have a nap later!”

            “NO!” She shouted. “Nap NOW!”

            Sasuke wanted to give the princess a nice slap on the face but Neji would be furious at him if he did that.

            “Alright Tsubasa,” he said. “No television for a two weeks. And if you act out again, it’ll be a month. So get your act together. Answer the question!”

            Tsubasa sighed. “Uh…fine. Its like, being surprised.”

            Ibiki gave her a check mark. “Define flummox.”

            Tsubasa yawned and leaned against Neji, tucking her face on his chest. Neji wanted to hold her but he instead pulled her away so she was sitting up. Her face tightened, her lips pinched angrily. Then she hit Neji in his abdomen, her hands were small and her fingers pointed, but there was no chakra behind the blow, luckily, because she would have paralyzed his diaphragm if it had.

            “Ow,” he muttered, rubbing the pain.

            Sasuke however took her hand and slapped it hard.

            Tsubasa’s face slowly reacted. Her eyes winced, her mouth opened and her nose wrinkled. Then she sobbed. “OW! You hit me! You’re mean! Mommy! Mommy! Daddy hit me!” She hugged Neji, crying.

             Neji glared at Sasuke. “Really Sasuke? What did you hit her for? Just because she hit me doesn’t mean we hit back! That’s kindergarten thinking!”

            Sasuke’s mouth snarled. “She acts likes she has no home training Neji! She tried to hit Tsunade and now she hit you! I hit her and I was about to tell her off before she started crying like a baby!”

            Neji shot back, “She IS a baby Sasuke! Maybe her body is more grown but her mind didn’t make the same journey! Babies don’t understand pain Sasuke, that’s not going to help her learn!”

            With the parents arguing and Tsubasa wailing, the noise was incredible. Ibiki’s head was throbbing, Tsunade had her hands over her ears.

            Neji stopped talking to Sasuke and instead turned to comforting Tsubasa, eventually coaxing her out of crying. He knew he’d need to talk to her about not hitting, but right now wasn’t the best time. “Come on Tsu-Tsu, answer the question. Ibiki, can you ask again?”

            Ibiki’s voice was flat and tired. “Define flummox.”

            “I dismiss it,” pouted Tsubasa, not even looking at him.

            Sasuke protested as Ibiki gave her an X mark. “Ibiki! Give her another chance!”

            “That’s your first warning Sasuke,” said Ibiki. “You talk out of turn again and you can sit outside.”

            “I’m not going anywhere,” growled Sasuke. “And I want you to give Tsubasa a second turn! She’s only saying she dismisses it because she’s tired! If you let her-”

            Tsunade cut him off. “Enough Sasuke. Ibiki is being fair and treating every child the same way. None of them got a second chance to answer questions, so neither does Tsubasa. Ibiki, continue.”

            “Now we move onto Similarities,” said Ibiki, his voice was drained and emotionless. “Tsubasa, how are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?”

            Tsubasa rubbed at her eyes, yawning again. “I dismiss it.”

            Now Neji was getting mad. “Tsubasa! You didn’t even try!”

            Ibiki gave her an X mark. “Next question. Tsubasa, how are the words _splash_ and _plash_ alike?”

            “Sound the same,” she leaned back as if to lay down but her parents put their arms behind her back, forcing her to stay sitting up.

            Ibiki gave her another X mark. “Tsubasa, how are the words _auditory_ and _aural_ alike?”

            Sasuke gave Tsubasa a very hard stern look, his eyes daring her to just dismiss the question. Tsubasa’s eyes screwed closed and she cried again. “Mommy! Daddy is glaring at me! He’s being mean! Mommy!”

            Neji hugged her and patted her head then said firmly to Sasuke, “Stop it Sasuke! She doesn’t understand!”

            “Well why do you think?” He shouted at him, frustrated. He had expected his daughter to be the smartest and best out of all the children, she had excellent parentage and lineage, there was no reason for her to be acting like this. OH yeah, there WAS and that was because Neji had raised a spoiled brat! “You gave her everything she wanted Neji, she ate when she wanted to eat and she slept whenever she wanted to sleep! The way she acts is YOUR fault!”

            Neji stopped hugging her to square off with Sasuke. “MY fault? Oh, right! And what about YOU Sasuke? What help did you do? Yeah, how about beating her? And forcing her to walk before she was ready! And just now you slapped her _hard_ on her hand! You’re abusive!”

            “ _I’m_ abusive? Feeding her all the time and letting her sleep all day is abusive! You’ve turned her into a slovenly pig! A fat brat!”

            “My daughter is NOT a pig _or_ fat!”

            “But you can’t deny that she’s not a brat!”

            They were each on opposite sides of the table, with Tsubasa stuck in-between. She had stopped crying to watch them yelling at each other.

            She faced Ibiki and said softly, “They both start with a.”

            Ibiki gave her an X mark. “That completes Verbal Comprehension. Now we start with Perceptual Reasoning. The first section is Picture Concepts. I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a collar, a food bowl and a dog, then you’re making the complete picture of a pet dog, okay? Understand?”

            Tsubasa nodded, the parents were still arguing, not even noticing that Tsubasa was paying attention now, or her slumped shoulders, her sad eyes.

            Ibiki held up a card. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

            Tsubasa didn’t answer, instead she looked between her parents, who had stopped talking, just glaring at each other and breathing hard.

            “Anyway,” said Neji, turning away from Sasuke. “Right now she’s been evaluated, so let’s pay attention to that. I’ll deal with you later.”

            “Deal with me!” Sasuke looked angry but saw Tsubasa solemnly watching him, so he shut his mouth and didn’t respond to Neji, though in his mind it would be _him_ dealing with Neji. That kid may be a year older than him but he’s the one who needed a spanking!

            Ibiki looked at Tsubasa. “Well? Do you dismiss it?”

            Neji and Sasuke blinked, because the last they checked, they were on a vocabulary test. So why was Ibiki holding up a picture flash card?

            Tsubasa sighed, “The cell phone, the car and the boat.”

            Ibiki gave her an X mark. “Let me remind you, only one picture from one row. The next one.”

            He held up another card. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

            Tsubasa rubbed her eye, she fought off a yawn and mumbled, “The last picture on the first row, last picture on the second row and the second picture on the last row.”

            Neji was baffled at her choices. _The dog collar, the desk chair and the picture frame?? What type of connections is she making?_

            Sasuke understood, the brat just made a random guess. She wanted to take a nap so she was just trying to get things over with. Oh he wanted to twist her head around. No child of his was going to be some sort of lazy bumpkin! Hell, he’ll trade her out with Mika! He had seen she had made a rather high score, while so far his daughter had made straight failing marks.

            Ibiki gave her an X mark. “The last one.” He held up a card. The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

            Tsubasa shuddered through a yawn and mumbled sleepily, “I dismiss it.”

            Neji sighed as she got another X mark. At this rate, she was going to get a result that she was stupid, when he knew she wasn’t, she just wasn’t trying!

            “Tsubasa,” said Sasuke. “Why don’t you try, huh? Have you thought about that?”

            Tsubasa looked at him. “Let me nap. Then I’ll try.”

            Sasuke was stunned. “Whoa…are you trying to make a deal? Well no! Answer this now and nap later!”

            Ibiki gave her an X mark. “Okay, now we start the section Picture Completion. Tsubasa, I’m going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can’t just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a car is missing a wheel, say wheel. If a tree is missing a branch, say branch. Are you ready?”

            He got a soft snore in response. Tsubasa’s head had tilted down, her chin resting on her chest. She was somehow sitting up perfectly straight, besides her bent neck.

            Neji shook her gently, her head lolled and she fluttered open her eyes, drowsy. She muttered, “I dismiss it.”

            Sasuke was ready to explode again. “He didn’t even ask a question yet! Dammit Tsubasa, I-”

            Neji glared at him. “Stop cursing at her! Look, let’s let her take a five minute nap, okay? This evaluation is giving misleading results because she’s too tired to answer clearly. Once she’s more clear headed she’ll be better able to respond.”

            He laid Tsubasa down on the table, she was snoring again immediately.

            Ibiki protested. “Now listen here Hyuga! I have a lot of work to do, understand? There’s two more children I have to evaluate after this and I have to grade them, make a report and turn the results into the Hokage. And its not because she’s so-called tired that she won’t answer, its because Tsubasa _doesn’t care_. She doesn’t care about the evaluation and she’s bored. That’s the only reason she’s trying to sleep, out of boredom. And the only reason she answered just a few moments ago is because your shouting made her uncomfortable enough to even try. Once you stop arguing, she became bored again and as such, fell asleep. The child has no mental stimulation, nothing to do or to care about. She probably would rather sleep all the time because at least she can dream whatever she wants, rather than stay awake and be bored to death. Now wake her up and let’s finish this.”

            Sasuke and Neji were stunned into silence. Ibiki…he really was an interrogator for a reason. He had seen straight into the heart of Tsubasa’s problem, something neither Sasuke or Neji had been able to do. Tsubasa was _bored_ , that was the entire deal. It was true, when she was awake she only woke up to eat then fell back asleep. Eat and sleep was all she really did. If family came over, she wanted to be entertained and if there was no entertainment, she went back to sleep. It was amazing she wasn’t fat but she had inherited the slim physique of her parents and her body was sleek and lithe.

            Sasuke and Neji looked at each other, then they both woke Tsubasa up. She stretched and yawned, then rubbed her stomach. “I’m hungry.”

            “Later,” they said together.

            Her eyes narrowed, nose scrunched up.

            Ibiki said, “If you don’t answer these questions, you’ll never leave this room.” His voice was completely deadened and it scared Tsubasa, add in the scars on his face and how his dark eyes were boring straight into her mind. He was serious. She sat up straight, gulping.

            Ibiki repeated the instructions for Picture Completion but Tsubasa just dismissed all three of them in a row, her eyes heavy-lidded, her mouth downturned, she kept sighing. It was true, the child was incredibly bored.

            Neji wondered if she was so bored because it was boring, just answering random questions could get a little boring, though he didn’t mind taking exams.

            Sasuke wondered if Tsubasa was bored because the test was too easy. He hated taking exams that felt like were insulting his intelligence, so easy that a bird brain like Naruto could get them right. Maybe that was Tsubasa’s problem, she was just incredibly smart and everything was so easy she’d rather sleep than deal with it.

            “Alright now we start Working Memory. The first test is called Digit Span. Tsubasa, I’m going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I’m not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Okay, repeat these numbers forward, Two, three, five, six, seven, eight.”

            Tsubasa’s eyes were on the floor, she was swinging her legs again. She said, “Five, three, seven, six, two, eight.”

            Sasuke sighed heavily. “Tsubasa! You’re supposed to repeat them in the same order he gave them to you!”

            Neji realized it was true, what Ibiki had said. Tsubasa just couldn’t be bothered to do the test properly. Whether it was because it was too boring or even because she was too smart for it, either way, nothing would make her give the test her honest attention. She didn’t care, period.

            Ibiki gave her an X mark. “Next. Repeat these numbers backwards. Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one.”

            Tsubasa yawned and asked, “Can I take another nap now?”

            “NO,” said her parents sternly.

            Tsubasa moaned but said, “I dismiss it. Oh, I dismiss the next question too, so just jump ahead. Can’t we finish this already? Yeah, I dismiss the rest of the exam. Goodnight.” With that, she laid back down on the table and went to sleep, snoring quietly.

            “Fine,” said Ibiki and the parents watched in dismay as he X marked the rest of the chart. The entire chart was covered in X’s besides just one singular check mark. Neither adult had _never_ made such a shocking low score on any test and now their daughter, the titular Hyuiha, had failed remarkably on her very first examination.

            “Go and tell the Sarutobi’s that its Sora’s turn,” said Ibiki, standing up.

            Sasuke whirled and left the room, swinging the door open and it slammed against the wall, but he was already gone.

            “Thank you Ibiki, for your patience.” Neji picked up Tsubasa, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist and snuggled against him, sleeping easily.

            Ibiki gave a grim smile. “Just pray you learn to get some patience. Not only is she bored as heck, she’s also extremely stubborn. You’ll have a very hard time raising that one.”

            Neji smiled back weakly and left with his head down.

            He met Shikamaru, Asuma and Sora in the hall. Sora waved and Neji realized the child came up to Shikamaru’s neck, making her well over five feet tall. Shikamaru was only about five-five, so Sora had to be like five-three. That’s huge for a twelve year old girl, isn’t it?

            Neji joined Sasuke in the room and sat with Tsubasa snoozing in his lap. Sasuke didn’t look at him, his arms crossed and glaring at the floor.

            Neji could only hope that Sora had a better time at it than his family had…


	5. The Evaluation 4: Sora Sarutobi

_The Sarutobi’s_

             Sora stalled for a second, seeing the room they were in but she just hopped onto the examination table without saying anything about it. Shikamaru wanted to speak up but if Sora was okay, then so was he.

            Asuma’s brow cocked up. “Tsunade, what’s with this dump?”

            The room wasn’t child friendly in anyway, or adult friendly for that matter. There was only one window with bars on it, the examination table Sora was sitting on was buckled with restraining straps. The desks were covered in papers, beakers and other equipment, while on table was carrying a tray of what looked like torture devices.

            Tsunade sighed. “This is Orochimaru’s old room, I’m working out of here because I’m going through his files. I’ll say one thing, this guy had serious issues. Okay, so first thing Sora, I want to slice your thumb with a razor, just to see what comes out.”

            Shikamaru stood up straighter. “You mean if she has that same black fluid as Hikaru? What about the twins, and Tsubasa? Did they have it?”

            Tsunade nodded. “Yes, they all did and I took it from their thumbs like Hikaru. I haven’t gotten the chance to test it yet. Sora, your thumb please.” She picked up a razor.

            Sora shakily held out her hand, her eyes teary. Shikamaru took her other hand and he winced at the grip he got back, Sora still had soft skin but the strength she held him was like a steel vise.

            Tsunade had a vial and placed it against Sora’s thumb, then sliced her with the razor. A large black drop of black fluid leaked out and slipped into the vial, which Tsunade capped and wrote Sora’s name on it. Sora’s thumb bled red, as if the black fluid hadn’t been there in the first place.

            Sora sucked on her thumb to ease the ache, then said, “I don’t think that’s blood Lady Tsunade. If it is, why would I bleed both black and red blood?”

            “True,” said Tsunade. “I’ll figure it out once I get the chance so in the meanwhile I wouldn’t worry too much about it. The other children were healthy and I know you are too. Okay, let’s get started on the health check up.”

            Tsunade listened to Sora’s breathing and heartbeat, took her blood pressure and temperature, got her weight and height then gave her some shots.

            “One hundred percent health,” said Tsunade with a smile. “Ibiki, its your turn.”

            Ibiki was in the corner at a table, he had to be grading some evaluations. He stood and put his pen down, then came over with a chart that had Sora’s name on it and a stack of flashcards. He looked tired, dark rimmed his eyes and his brow was creased.

            Sora looked concerned. “Are you okay Mr. Ibiki?”

            Ibiki nodded, sitting down in front of her table. “Yes, I’m fine. Okay.” He rubbed his forehead for a second. “Shikamaru and Asuma, you aren’t allowed to help Sora in anyway. So that means no sound effects, hand gestures, don’t talk to her. She has to answer her questions on her own without any help. If you make any outbursts you get one warning then you have to sit out the rest of the test outside, understand?”

            “Yes,” said Shikamaru.

           Asuma said, “Got it. Besides, Sora won’t need any help. She must have read all the books out of the library by now. Not to mention Shikamaru’s been tutoring her in any subject under the sun. There’s no reason she won’t get all the questions right. For a twenty-one days old child she’s got the mind of a twenty-one years old.”

            Sora gave him a cheery smile. “Thanks Daddy! I’ll do my very best!”

            Ibiki said, “Then if you’re ready, let’s get started. This evaluation has three tests and each test has two sections in it. We’ll start with Verbal Comprehension, the section Vocabulary. I’ll give you a word and you define it. First word, define antidisestablishmentarianism.”

            Sora said, “Opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an establishment.”

            Ibiki paused for about a good minute before giving her a check mark. Shikamaru didn’t understand the reason for the pause but Asuma felt that the other kids didn’t give a dictionary perfect answer and he was probably a little stunned.

            “Next,” said Ibiki. “Define the word flabbergasted.”

            Sora answered, “To be overcome with surprise and bewilderment, or astounded.”

            Another check mark.

            Shikamaru knew Sora liked to read dictionaries and thesauruses for pure information gathering, and if she was even a fraction as smart as him, which she was actually probably smarter than him, she remembered everything she read. As long as Ibiki asked her a word that was in the dictionary, then she knew the definition.

            “Define the word flummox.”

            Sora looked upset for a moment but said, “To bewilder, or confound or confuse.”

            Ibiki gave her another checkmark. “That concludes Vocabulary. Now we start Similarities. I’ll give you two words and you tell me how the words are alike. So first, how are the words _know_ and _no_ alike?”

            Sora sat up really straight, almost like she got jerked on a pulley. “Tell me you don’t mean the answer is simply that they sound alike, right?”

            “That’s right,” said Ibiki, giving her a check mark. “Next question. How are the words _splash_ and _plash_ alike?”

            A somewhat ugly look was coming over Sora’s face, her nose wrinkled, her lip was curling backwards. “Is this an intelligence test or a stupid test? Because I think it’s the latter.”

            “Sora,” hissed Shikamaru. “Just answer the question. I know its really beneath you but just do it then its Kana’s turn and we can be finished.”

            “But Mommy,” she protested. “I feel like my brain cells are dying! They’re too easy! They’re stupid!”

            “Just answer them Sora,” instructed Asuma. “If its so easy then do it and get it over with. I dealt with Shikamaru finding everything so easy he didn’t bother but you’re not going to be the same. No matter how easy you find something, just give it your best, each time. So answer.”

            Sora nodded and said, “Splash and plash are the same thing, its just that plash is considered a gentle splash.”

            Ibiki gave her a check mark. “Okay, last question. How are the words _auditory_ and _aural_ alike?”

            Sora crossed her arms and said, “Both words pertain to the ear or to the sense of hearing.”

            Ibiki gave her another check mark. “That concludes Verbal Comprehension. Now we start Perceptual Reasoning. First section is Picture Concepts. I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a sky, a cloud and a sun, then you’re making a complete image of a day. Ready?”

            Sora nodded, still looking vaguely annoyed.

            Ibiki held up a card. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

            Sora glanced over it then said monotone, “The canoe, the water, the life jacket. The idea is going canoeing.”

            Ibiki gave her a checkmark and held up another card. The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

            Sora sighed and answered, “The rake, the lawnmower and the garden shears. The idea is gardening and landscaping.”

            Ibiki wrote down a check. “One last card.” He held it up. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

            Suddenly Sora’s face lit up and she breathed shakily, “School. The idea is school.”

            Shikamaru felt his heart warm. All she wanted was to get a proper education and now that the Fourth Hokage had said that the children were able to go to the Academy, he knew nothing would stop her now.

            Ibiki gave her a check mark. “That concludes Picture Concepts. Now we start Picture Completion. I’m going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can’t just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. For example if a dog is missing his tail, say tail, or if a door is missing its doorknob, say doorknob. Understand?”

            Sora’s expression was very disgruntled and her tone rude. “Only a baby wouldn’t understand. Yes, I understand.”

            Asuma said sternly, “Sora, watch your tone. Ibiki is doing his job, alright? Don’t mouth off to him. Ibiki, go ahead."

            Ibiki nodded then held up the first card. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations.

            Sora gasped and clapped her hands excitedly. “Its missing the Christmas tree! Mommy, remember the book, Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer? I can’t wait until December! Christmas is going to be the best holiday!”

            Shikamaru smiled at her. “Yes but December is way off, seven months from now. I did tell you that book was out of season.”

            “Let’s get back on track,” said Ibiki. He wrote down a check mark then held up the next card. This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

            Sora said, “The kennel is missing dogs and cats. Talking about dogs and cats...”

            She slowly looked at her parents, Asuma shook his head when Shikamaru looked at him too.

            Sora slumped then perked up. “If I do really good in the Academy, then can I have a pet?”

            “You can have a goldfish,” said Asuma, wishing he had a cigarette. He had one in his mouth but it wasn’t lit, Shikamaru forbade him from smoking around Sora. “Something that costs little to upkeep, no noise and no shedding.”

            Sora protested, “But goldfish aren’t fun!”

            “Back on track please,” said Ibiki. He gave her a check mark. “Last question.” He held up a card. It was the beach, with waves, the sun, beach chairs, volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

            Sora gasped. “The beach! We gotta go sometime! And there’s no people, that’s what’s missing.”

            Ibiki gave her a check mark. “That concludes Perceptual Reasoning. Now we start Working Memory. The first test is Digit Span. Sora, I’m going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I’m not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. First set, repeat these numbers forward. Two, three, five, six, seven, eight.”

            Shikamaru felt for Sora as she clenched her fists. If this was him, if he was back to being a Genin, he’d sleep through this whole thing. Really Ibiki? Who chose this exam?

            Asuma nudged Sora. “Go ahead and answer. Its not hard so just do it.”

            “Two, three, five, six, seven, eight.” Sora muttered, looking really annoyed.

            Ibiki wrote down a check. “Now, repeat these numbers backwards. Five hundred, sixty-five, twelve hundred and fifty-two, one thousand and seventy-one.”

            Sora sighed heavily then answered, “One thousand and seventy-one, twelve hundred and fifty-two, sixty-five, five hundred.”

            Another check mark. “Lastly, repeat these numbers backwards. Sixteen, twenty-five, four, eleven and two hundred and ten.”

            Sora said irritatedly, “Two hundred and ten, eleven, four, twenty-five, sixteen.”

            Another check mark. “That concludes Digit Span. Now on the last test, Letter-Number Sequencing. I’m going to give you a series of letters and numbers, in random order and you are to repeat them back to me in a way that the numbers come first in order of highest to lowest and the letters come after in alphabetical order. I will not repeat the series, so you must listen carefully.”

            Sora nodded, saying, “This might be a little more interesting.”

            Shikamaru understood, it finally sounded like something that might even remotely challenge Sora’s intellect. So far she’s just been insulted repeatedly. Asuma, after for the past eighteen days watched Sora grow and learn had no doubt she’d pass this intelligence exam with flying colors. She had Shikamaru’s brain inside of her, it was no contest.

            Ibiki said, “15. B. 12. G. 19. K. 22. L.”

            Sora pouted for half a second, then said clearly, “22. 19. 15. 12.  B. G. K. L.”

            Ibiki wrote down a check mark. “Repeat these with the highest number first, lowest number next then the letters in alphabetical order 102. O. 189.  M. 234. R. 890. D.”

            Shikamaru thought, _well that’s a tad bit higher level. I’m sure the next one will be even more challenging. Still, it will be no problem for Sora._

            Sora said, “890. 234. 189. 102. D. M. O. R.”

            A check mark. Ibiki said, “Last question and the test will be completed. Repeat this series. 1209. T. 2340. F. 1323. U. 1293. S. 4898. C.”

            Asuma thought, _nice but unfair. Sora is a genius but what about the other kids? Hikaru no doubt was unable to answer this, I doubt that knucklehead Kana would be able too either. Some of these questions were extremely easy but some, like this one, its asking a little much._

            Sora said, “4898. 2340. 1323. 1293. 1209. C. F. T. U.”

            Ibiki gave one final check mark. “Okay, you’re all done. Please go and tell Kana’s family that its his turn.”

            Sora hopped off the table, saying, “Well, that was way too easy. I hope we get another intelligence exam, one that actually measures _intelligence_.”

            Shikamaru laughed and opened the door for her, saying, “It wasn’t like an university entrance exam Sora, the Hokage just wants to see where you guys stand. None of you have been to school yet and after this, you’ll definitely be able to.”

            Sora jumped onto Asuma, who willingly let her get onto his shoulders. “I can’t wait to go to school! I hope I get Mrs. Hatake as my teacher, that would be really fun! If we can all be in the same class, I’d really like that!”

            Asuma said, “I can only wonder who your Jounin-sensei would be after you gradate the Academy. I feel for him or her.”

            Shikamaru elbowed Asuma friendly-like. “Hey, Sora will be an excellent student. She’s not like me, she has ambition.”

            “Yes but its hard to teach a student who’ll know more than you and because she’s ambitious, Sora will quickly become frustrated if her sensei can’t met her expectations and give her all the knowledge and training she will demand. Like I said, I feel for him or her.”

            Shikamaru was stunned at Asuma’s insight and he hadn’t even thought about it like that. Yet, after seeing how Sora reacted during the evaluation he knew Asuma was perfectly right.

            Sora said, “Well, I guess that just means I’ll graduate the Academy early, then become a Genin. After my Jounin-sensei has taught me all he can, I’ll become a Chunnin and gain lots of experience by doing missions. Then once I’m ready, I’ll become a Jounin and have my own Genin students. But I really want to become an ANBU Captain, then once I’m tired of that, I’ll retire to work as a teacher at the Academy. Once I’m finished there, I’ll join the Konoha Council. Then once I’m too old, I’ll go home and die surrounded by friends. Ah,” she stretched her arms up wide. “The perfect life!”

            Asuma and Shikamaru stared at each other. Asuma, for one, was just fine the way he was, a Jounin and father, nothing else he needed. Shikamaru as a young boy had also known what he wanted and it was the exact opposite of Sora’s dreams. He wanted to be an average ninja with an average life, marry a regular girl, then have a girl and a boy. Retire after his daughter got married and his son became a ninja, then he intended on spending the rest of his retirement playing Shogi or Go then die of old age before his wife. A very simplistic earnest dream for his future. However that’s not what happened at all, yes, he had a daughter but his “wife” was actually his husband Asuma his former Jounin-sensei and he didn’t even know when he would take another mission, he had kind of being on an unofficial maternity leave for almost a month now.

            Asuma said, “Well Sora, you’ve got the right idea in your head and as your parents, we’ll do everything we can to encourage and support you. Down now,” he knelt and she got off him as they were at the door.

            Sora went inside and said, “Kana, your turn. Don’t worry, the test is so easy you’ll drool yourself back into an infant stage as it sucks the life out of your brain cells. Your best bet is to hurry and answer quickly before you die.”

            She smiled nicely and skipped over to sit down with Mika, who was reading with Hikaru. “What’s good reading you guys?”

            Shikamaru thought, _that wasn’t very nice Sora._

            Kana looked abjectly horrified but stood up as his parents ushered him and they left.


	6. The Evaluation 5: Kana Subaku

_The Older Subaku’s_

            Kiba didn’t like the look of the room they had just entered, with the shabby desks, overflowing file cabinets, the strapped table and the barred window.

            Kana’s nose wrinkled but he sat on the table, crossing his arms. “Okay, okay, I’m ready! I won’t let my brain cells get drained!”

            Tsunade looked confused and Ibiki was in the corner. Kiba could tell from his hunched shoulders and his writing he was definitely grading. Kankuro figured Kana wouldn’t do too well on this test, Ibiki was a hard-ass interrogator. And as for what Sora said, with a genius like Shikamaru as her mother then any test would be too easy and brain-cell killing for her. Kiba was also worried about Kana’s evaluation, the child didn’t really care to read or write, he would do if Kiba forced him, but Kana would rather play sports outside or rough house with Akamaru. Even more surprising, he liked helping his father with his puppet modeling, he was kind of handy with the power tools and measuring. But the books? No, not Kana, not really.

            “Okay, first thing Kana,” said Tsunade, “is I want to make a cut on your thumb, just a little cut and take a sample of the fluid that comes out, okay?”

            Kana gasped and paled. “W-wh-what? You mean, that black stuff, Hikaru, that’ll be in _me_ too?”

            Tsunade said quietly, “So far, each of the other children had the same fluid. I can only naturally assume you will also. Don’t worry, the cut won’t hurt, it only takes a second. Ready?”

            Kana didn’t look happy but held out his thumb. Tsunade had a razor and a vial. She placed the vial against his thumb and sliced his skin. A large drop of black fluid slipped into the vial which she then capped and put his name on it. Kana stared at his thumb which was now red along the slice, regular blood.

            Kiba got a band-aid out of his pocket and placed it around Kana’s thumb and smiled at him. “You see? You bleed red, just like we do.”

            Kana stared up at him. “But do you bleed black? Did I inherit that from you?”

            “No we don’t bleed black but I don’t know if that’s really blood,” said Kankuro. “First off, the consistency wasn’t like blood. Blood is thin and watery, that black liquid was very thick, more like syrup. Not to mention, it doesn’t smell like blood either. Blood is a very strong coppery metallic scent, it stings the nose. That black liquid…it smells pretty darn bad, nearly nauseating. Its not a natural substance but don’t worry kid, Lady Tsunade is going to test is, find out what it is and if possible, get it removed. Okay?”

            Kana nodded, smiling a little bit and Kiba felt better too. And everything Kankuro said was right, that black fluid _did_ smell bad, not like a rotten garbage smell or even dirty body odor, just a _wrong_ smell. Still, he tried not to worry about it too much because for sure Tsunade would figure it out.

            “Okay, time for the health check up.” Tsunade took Kana’s temperature, listened to his breathing and heart rate, got his blood pressure, measured his height and weight, then gave him a series of shots.  “Alright, you’re all good Kana, very healthy. Though, open your mouth please.”

            Kana frowned but opened and Tsunade looked in. She said, “Your teeth are getting chipped Kana, not extremely noticeable but I did because I’m a healer. Have you been chewing hard things, like wood or ice?”

            Kankuro glowered at Kana very hard and answered as the child cringed. “Yeah, he chews anything he gets his grubby little paws on. He chews on the living room chairs, the coffee table legs, I even caught him about to eat the TV remote. I keep telling him to stop and he doesn’t listen!”

            “I’m sorry,” whined Kana, flinching. “I can’t help it! My teeth just ache some times and chewing makes it feel better!”

            “Well if you keep at it you’ll end up permanently damaging your teeth,” said Tsunade, placing her hands on her hips. “You won’t get any girls if you have jacked teeth. Kiba, Kankuro,” she looked at the upset parents. “I’d suggest getting Kana something to chew on that’s safe, maybe…like a chew toy. It doesn’t have to be rawhide, but there are paper, mineral and wooden chew toys that are very healthy and safe. If he really is too compulsive to stop chewing things, you might as well get him something to fulfill his urge so that he doesn’t continue to chew household items.”

            “Great idea,” said Kankuro sarcastically then his lip curled. “But it fails. We’ve bought him chew bones, Frisbees, tennis balls, and he just chews them up within days and then goes back to chewing the furniture. He’s like a puppy who can’t be trained. And its not like Akamaru helps out, because Akamaru likes chewing too! The house looks and smells like a zoo!”

            Now Kiba was getting annoyed as Kana’s eyes looked hurt and his shoulders slumped. Kiba said firmly, “Kankuro, enough please. Kana is still growing and right now he has a little compulsive behavior, its fine. With some time he’ll grow out of it and we’ll continue to raise him happily and healthily. Thank you for your advice Tsunade, and we’ll look into it.”

            Tsunade gently tousled Kana’s hair. “Kana, just remember that your parents shouldn’t have to bend over backwards to please you. If you like chewing, only chew on what they say you can. If you run out of available things to chew, make your own. If there any old wash clothes or socks no one is using, tie them up into knots and chew those. The rolls for toilet paper are good, once all of the tissue has been used. Also you can buy some rope to chew on. Rolled up newspapers and magazines work too, just make sure no one is reading them first, okay? Sound good?”

            Kana nodded eagerly, perking up. “Yeah! I got it!”

            Ibiki came over, saying, “Okay, its time for the evaluation.” He sat down on a chair in front of Kana, holding a chart with his name and a stack of large flash cards. “First, a warning for you Kiba and Kankuro.” He looked at them seriously. “You aren’t allowed to help Kana in _any_ way. That means no sound effects or gestures or facial expressions, don’t talk to him or whisper to him. Let him answer completely on his own, understand? You get one warning but if you do it again, you have to sit out the rest of evaluation outside. So are we clear?”

            “Clear,” said the parents together, though Kiba sounded worried.

            Kankuro nudged Kiba until he looked at him then pecked his nose. “Just relax. It’ll be over soon.”

            Kiba nodded and leaned his head against Kankuro’s shoulder.

            Ibiki closed his eyes tight for half a second then looked at Kana, who gulped. “Okay Kana, this evaluation has three parts to it and each part has two sections. All you do is answer the questions the best you can, if you don’t know, just say so and I’ll move on. Okay, ready?”

            Kana nodded, clasping his hands together tightly.

            Ibiki looked down at the chart then back at Kana. “The first test is Verbal Comprehension, and we’ll start with Vocabulary. I’ll give you a word Kana and you tell me the definition. Ready?”

            Kana raised his hand. “Question!”

            Ibiki frowned but said, “What is it?”

            “What does _definition_ mean?” Kana blinked, cocking his head to the side much like a curious puppy.

            Kankuro really wanted to slap the kid upside his head but he didn’t move, sighing on the inside, _yeah, I knew it but I didn’t know it would be THIS bad._  

            Kiba bemoaned in his head, _I knew I should have forced him to read more!_

            Ibiki said flatly, “It means you tell me what the word means. Are you ready?”

            Kana nodded. “Yup.

            “Kana, define the word antidisestablishmentarianism.”

            Kana said, “Bless you. Do you need a tissue?”

            Kankuro just very slowly sat down, his legs too weak to hold him up. _Oh freaking Kami. He’s a true idiot!_

            Kiba whispered, “Kana, he didn’t cough or sneeze. That’s the word. Tell him what it means.”

            Kana’s eyes went wide. “But he didn’t say a word! He made a very long weird sound!”

            Ibiki slashed an X on Kana’s chart. “Okay, next word. Kana, define flabbergasted.”

            “You’re excused,” said Kana, looking worried. “You’ve got a really bad cold, you know that?”

            Kiba quietly joined Kankuro on the floor. Kankuro placed his arm around Kiba’s shoulders and they didn’t say anything, just silently watched Kana get another X mark.

            Ibiki said, “Kana, define the word flummox.”

            Kana said, “Flummox? Sounds like phlegm or something. You should see a doctor, hey Lady Tsunade’s over there, she could help you.”

            Ibiki gave him another X mark. “That ends Vocabulary. Now we start Similarities. Kana, I’ll give you two words and you tell me how they are alike. First set, Kana, tell me how the words _know_ and _no_ are like.”

            Kana picked at a loose thread on his jacket. “Is that a trick question? I’m pretty sure you just told me no twice. No and no are alike because they both mean stop! Or don’t! Dad tells me no a lot.”

            Ibiki wrote an X on the chart. “Next. Kana, tell me how the words _splash_ and _plash_ are alike.”

            Kana stood off the table but only to dig in his pockets and pulled out a handful of what looked like dog food, covered in pieces of lint, hair and what looked like squished gnats. He hopped back onto the table and shoved the glop in his mouth, saying around his gobbling, “Splashing means throwing water everywhere, like playing in puddles or in the toilet water. That’s when Dad tells me no.”

            Ibiki gave him an X mark. Kankuro checked the clock on the wall, he was sure it would all be over soon. Kiba was disgusted by Kana’s eating habits, he’d have to teach him better than that. He kept telling him not to eat from Akamaru’s bowl and here he was, carrying around fistfuls in his pocket. Maybe Orochimaru put Akamaru’s DNA in the serum…

            Ibiki said, “Next. Kana, how are the words _auditory_ and _aural_ alike?”

            Kana didn’t answer at first, sucking his sticky fingers, then said through a burp, “Dun-UGK-no.”

            Ibiki gave him an X mark. “Alright, that finishes Similarities and concludes Verbal Comprehension. Now we start Perceptual Reasoning, and begin with the section Picture Concepts. Kana, this is how this section goes. I will show you a card, which has three rows of images on it. Out of each row, you are to pick a series of pictures that all go together. For example, if you pick out three images of a sleeping bag, a tent and firewood, you’re making the image of camping, understand?”

            “Meh,” Kana shrugged.

            Ibiki lifted up a card. “Pick three images, one from each row and tell me what the concept is.”

            The card held three rows. The first row showed a banana, a cat and a canoe. The second row was a cell phone, a car and a body of water. The last row was a fish tank, a steering wheel and a life jacket.

            Kankuro knew the answer and so did Kiba, but from Kana’s blank stare, he probably didn’t even understand the instructions.

            “Um…” he said, “I pick…the boat, the car and the wheel.”

            Ibiki gave him an X mark.

            “And this card?”

            The first row on the card was a bag of jelly beans, a pile of straw and a rake. The second row was sunglasses, a lawnmower and a bowl of ramen. The last row was a clothesline, a sofa and a pair of garden shears.

            Kana scrunched up his nose then said, “I pick…the jelly beans, the sunglasses and the sofa chair.”

            Ibiki gave him an X mark. “Okay, next.”

            Kiba protested, “Come on Ibiki! You could at least try and explain it to him, he’s not even answering correctly!”

            Ibiki gave Kiba a hard look. “That’s your first warning Inuzuka. Speak again and you can sit outside, got it?”

            Kiba sighed shortly but nodded. Kankuro didn’t like Ibiki’s tone but he felt for the guy, he’s been giving the same exam for six kids for like three hours already, he’s tired and sick of the brats and wants to get it over with. Honestly, if he had been in Ibiki’s situation, he’d just give everyone random marks and call it a day.

            Ibiki held up another card. The first row held a stack of textbooks, a full grocery bag and a dog collar. The second row had a picture with a ruler, a stick of chalk and an apple, then the next two pictures were a bicycle and a desk chair. The last row had a picture of a bookbag, a picture frame and a bowl.

            Kana yawned and looked at his parents. “Can’t I be done now? Sora’s right, these questions are brain-draining!”

            “Just finish it,” instructed Kankuro. “If you don’t know, remember he said just tell him and he’ll move on.”

            Kana looked back at Ibiki. “I dunno.”

            Ibiki wrote down an X. “Alright, that ends Picture Concepts. Now we start Picture Completion. Kana, I’m going to show you a several pictures and in each picture, there is something that is missing a part. You must tell me what part is missing. However you can’t just point to a spot and say so, you must identify by the word what is missing. So if a bookshelf is missing its books, say book. If a lamp is missing its shade, say lampshade. Understand?”

            Kana nodded, fighting off a yawn. “Yup, un huh.”

            Ibiki held up a flashcard. It was a picture of wrapped presents, a happy holidays banner and a star on the floor with a pile of tinsel and decorations.

            Kiba barely managed to hold his tongue. _That’s not fair! That’s Christmas, a winter holiday! Kana wouldn’t know anything about that!_

            Kana stared then scratched his neck. “Have no clue. It looks like a party, so maybe the people are missing.”

            Ibiki gave him an X mark and held up another card. “And this one?”

            This one was of an kennel, it had leashes and collars and dog bowls, but no animals.

            Kana’s eyes were closed as he yawned wide, stretching his arms up.

            “Dunno,” he said on a shaky exhale, not even looking.

            Ibiki gave him an X and moved right on. “And this last one?”

            It was the beach, with waves, the sun, beach chairs, volleyball nets and surfboards laying on the sand.

            Kankuro thought this question was a little on the unfair side too, there were no beaches in Konoha, how would Kana know? And that last one was weird, he didn’t even know the answer to that. He had seen the happy holidays banner in the picture, but Sunagakure didn’t have any national or federal holidays, so if Kana had gotten that one right he would have learned something.

            Kana laughed. “Whoa, the beach! I’ve never been, have you?”

            Ibiki gave him an X mark. “That ends Picture Completion and concludes Perceptual Reasoning. Now we start the last test of the evaluation, Working Memory. The first section is Digit Span. I’m going to orally give you a series of numbers and you are to repeat them back to me, either in the same order or reverse order. I’m not going to repeat the numbers so listen carefully. Ready?”

            Kana clasped his head with both hands, his eyes wide and teary, he cried out. “My brain cells! My brain cells are losing life! I’m gonna die if I have to listen to anymore! Sora was right, the test is killing me!”

            Ibiki said stiffly, “Are you dismissing the rest of the questions? Just say so and the test will be concluded.”

            Kana nodded, saying desperately, “I dismiss them, I dismiss them!”

            “Very well.”

            And his parents watched morosely as Ibiki sliced X-marks down the rest of the chart. The entire chart was covered in X’s. Kana had gotten each and every question wrong.

            “Whelp, thank Kami that’s over!” Kana, now all smiles, hopped off the table and headed to the door. “I need to have fun, quickly, to get my brain working again.”

            Kankuro and Kiba followed him out of the room.

            Kiba said quietly to Kankuro, “I think fun is the last thing Kana needs.”

            Kankuro responded, “He needs the Academy, pronto.”

            Kana entered the room where the other families were waiting, gasping out, “Sora, Sora, you were right! My brain cells really _were_ being drained! I had to stop taking the test before I actually died!”

            Kiba and Kankuro looked at each other, thinking together, _or maybe he’ll flunk out of the Academy too._


	7. The Revealing Part 3

_The Families_

             Now the families just waited in the room, waiting for the results of the evaluations and for Tsunade to test the black fluid. While they waited, it ended up the parents on one side of the room and the children on the other. At the moment, the children were enjoying themselves listening to Hikaru read, besides Kana, who was nodding off.

            “Tsubasa has a severe personality problem,” was saying Sasuke to the other adults, explaining the reason for his grumpy demeanor when coming back from Tsubasa’s evaluation. He hadn’t spoken to anyone, not until Kankuro’s family had returned. “And I won’t name names, but there has to be a _reason_ why she’s like this.”

            “Don’t start Sasuke,” said Iruka before Neji could explode. “This right here is the entire purpose of the marriages in the first place, so the children could have _proper_ homes, meaning two parents. Tsubasa’s turn out is because the both of you, so don’t start the blame game. If you don’t like Tsubasa’s attitude, then start parenting her the way you want her. Neji’s not perfect and neither are you Sasuke. Pointing fingers has no place in a healthy marriage. You both take equal measurements in Tsubasa’s raising, understand?”

            Sasuke felt thoroughly talking-to’ed while Neji agreed and said, “Yes, thank you Iruka. It is the both of us…Sasuke takes missions and when I’m home, I do cleaning or something else to occupy my time. Tsubasa is either eating or sleeping, or watching TV when she feels like it.”

            Naruto’s jaw just went slack. “Whoa _what?_ That’s _all_ Tsubasa does? What about reading, writing? What about going to the park, the library, the movies? If all she does is eat, sleep and watch TV, she ought to be Choji’s size!”

            Neji flushed pink, he mumbled something under his breath but the other ninjas all had exceptional hearing and caught it, he said, _well I didn’t know any better and Sasuke’s no help, he’s hardly home anyway._

            Kiba sighed heavily. “Look Neji, us wives all have working husbands who spend long times away from the house but that doesn’t mean its their fault how the kids turn out. Kankuro isn’t home a lot but when he is home, he tries to raise Kana the best he can. With the back of his hand or his belt mostly, but we’re working through that.”

            “Not that it helps,” grunted Kankuro. “Kana can’t keep instructions in his head for more than a minute. Its in one ear out the other with him. That’s why telling him to stop chewing on the furniture or drinking out of the toilet bowl or eating Akamaru’s dog food doesn’t work, he’ll say sorry than do it again. The only time he listens if it comes to working on the puppets, because I say hand me the drill and he hands it, it doesn’t take much thinking or anything to understand.”

            Gaara’s eyes widened. “Are you teaching Kana the Puppet Technique? You didn’t tell me that.”

            Kankuro crossed his arms. “I wasn’t teaching him that because at the time we didn’t even know if he would be a ninja, remember? He saw me at my workbench and wanted to help, so I let him help. He hasn’t even shown the use of chakra control yet, and that is essential when controlling puppets.”

            “Wait a minute,” said Asuma. “I thought all the kids were learning jutsu on their own.”

            Kakashi shook his head. “No, not at all. Hikaru hasn’t shown any ninjutsu abilities, no chakra, and not the Sharingan either, saying he could inherit it from me. And like Kankuro just said, neither has Kana.”

            “Sora can do the Shadow Possession jutsu,” said Shikamaru with a touch of pride.

            Naruto said, “The same way Mika can use Shadow Clones, and Miki can control sand. I can only guess this means that the children are all growing and progressing in their own way. They had their growth spurts at different times, some can use chakra and some can’t, and they didn’t all ace or all fail the evaluations. Sounds like they’re regular children to me, besides you know, their birth and stuff.”

            Iruka smiled. “Well now that Minato said the children can join the Academy, I’m sure with proper training they all will be using chakra and learning techniques in time. Of course, the Academy isn’t _just_ about learning jutsus. Of course there’s the core curriculum, they’ll learn reading, writing, mathematics, science, geography, history, all of that and later on there’ll be courses in tactics and strategy. All of that is used to help nourish lessons on chakra control, hand seals, weapon handling, then naturally taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu. So if you say Kana is having trouble and Tsubasa has issues, the Academy will get that all sorted out, I promise. They’ll be great Konoha ninjas in no time.”

            Kiba looked relieved and Neji smiled, but suddenly Kankuro was frowning and so was Gaara.

            Naruto asked, “What’s with the face Gaara?”

            Gaara didn’t answer but looked at Kankuro, who sighed but answered, “Well…Gaara and I are Sunanites, not Konohaians. The only reason we are married and living here is because, according to the Fourth Hokage, is that you, Naruto and Kiba, are underage to leave Konoha. So we have to live here until our wives are of age or until our kids are eighteen. Basically, once Naruto or Kiba are twenty-one, Gaara and I are legally able to leave the village. That also will offer the question of who keeps the kids, if Kana and the twins will be Leaf ninja or Sand ninja.”

            Naruto stared at Gaara. “Gaara? Is this true? And you never said anything to me?”

            Gaara’s normally smooth-faced expression shifted into one of unease and apprehension. “The Fourth Hokage said it in front of everyone, when he was explaining about the marriages, I didn’t keep a secret. If you forgot…I just didn’t remind you.”

            Naruto’s mouth firmed and his nostrils flared, he was getting angry.

            Kiba didn’t know what to say but something came out and he looked Kankuro right in his eyes. “I’ll fight you physically before I let you take Kana away from me.” His voice was stone cold and serious.

            Kankuro sighed, averting his eyes. “Look Kiba, that’s far off. How old are you, eighteen? That’s at least three years from now. There’s no need to talk about it now, that’s a discussion for later.”

            “There is no later,” said Kiba. “Kana is staying here, in Konoha, with me.”

            “Same for _my_ twins,” said Naruto, his eyes were tinged slightly orange around the rims of his pupils, not yet fox red.

            “Let’s not,” said Neji as Gaara’s eyes narrowed. “I agree with Kankuro, this _is_ a conversation for another time, like three years from now. Honestly, talking about parental rights at this moment doesn’t make much sense. For now, we all live here, in Konoha, together. I remember the Hokage saying that and he also said the marriages could be dissolved once the children were eighteen and able to take care of themselves. Considering how fast the children are growing, sure, they’ve stagnated now, but let’s say they have another growth spurt next year? Add in with them learning well in the Academy, maybe in just two years they’ll be the size of eighteen years olds, also fully capable of being ninjas and living on their own. When that happens, we can all be divorced and go on with our lives. The point of the marriages wasn’t to live happily ever after but just to raise the children until they could be on their own. Arguing about parental rights now is pointless, it might not even matter in three years at all.”

            Everyone went quiet as they thought about Neji’s words but another voice spoke up. “Who says we want our parents to divorce?”

            The adults turned and saw all the children had become privy to their conversation and had crossed the room to stand by them. This meant that the children had managed to stop talking, walk over and listen in and none of the adults had noticed, meaning they were all able to hide their presence from them even when standing _right_ next to them.

            Iruka forced a smile for Hikaru, the one who had spoken. “You know Hikaru, and the rest of you, this was an adult conversation, you weren’t supposed to hear, or listen. Didn’t we talk about eavesdropping Hikaru? And that its wrong?”

            Hikaru’s face was like Iruka’s, just younger, glaring right back at him. “First off, I wasn’t eavesdropping. Secondly how can I _not_ hear, we’re in the same room! What do you want us to do, plug our fingers in our ears?”

            “Hey!” Kakashi’s voice raised sharply. “Hikaru, don’t you dare to talk back like that. I don’t mind admitting that yes, we are in the same room but its completely possible to focus on something else and make sure you’re not overhearing something you’re not meant to. As for the rest of you,” his one ebony eye trailed over the other kids, who either stood up straighter or gulped. “Our conversation was adult and for adults only. That means regardless of what you heard, you aren’t allowed to comment on it or talk about it. In other words, butt out. Not your business, got it?”

            “But you’re talking about us!” Miki bust out and stared at Gaara then Kankuro and back to his father. “What do you mean you’re a Sunanite? What’s a Sunanite? How can you just decide who _keeps_ us, like we’re just dogs or something? What do you mean being a Sand ninja? You guys have been keeping secrets and I think its time for another revealing!”

            “YEAH!” The other kids chimed in and crossed their arms, young faces hardened and eyes firm on their parents.

            Naruto was furious at Gaara for not mentioning this to him, yes, okay, so he forgot but Gaara also mislead him, purposely, by not reminding him. A lie of omission. So what, was Gaara just going to let Naruto peacefully live his life, then once he turned twenty-one drop the bomb on him and leave? Even if that was the case, Miki and Mika would be staying right here, in Konoha with their mother. They would be Leaf ninjas and fully legal Konoha citizens. Yes, he loved Gaara and he would miss him terribly should he leave but he wasn’t going to take Naruto’s children with him, no way. Yet, how could he explain that to the children? Tell them that their father wasn’t interested in playing the family man, the good father, forever? They had been getting along so well and Gaara was doing his best, how could he tell them it wasn’t real, that it didn’t matter? Naruto couldn’t think up how to explain it, so he ended up staying silent.

            Gaara never mentioned the stipulation that the Fourth Hokage had made because once Naruto and himself confessed love for each other, he didn’t think it mattered. He loved Naruto, he loved his kids and the marriage was fine. He didn’t see a reason to divorce. But there was that one matter and that was the fact that he _was_ a Sand ninja, not a Leaf. He wasn’t a Konoha citizen either, he had diplomatic immunity because he was a Sand ninja and the son of the Kazekage. He was taking missions from the Leaf but only so he would earn Leaf currency, able to pay bills and buy food and the like in Konoha. The Kazekage had appeared to disown himself and his brother but he highly doubted it would last forever. His father was just pissed off at the situation and walked away to calm down. Once he was back in his right mind, Rasa would realize he had just dumped two of his best shinobi in another village who had his grandchildren. Yes, definitely Rasa would return and it wouldn’t be pretty. And with all of that in his head, Gaara couldn’t think of anything to say to placate his children. It was better to not say anything at all rather than say something that would only make them more upset, so Gaara didn’t speak. 

            Neji and Sasuke glanced at each other, their mouths twisted and shoulders lifted just an inch. What could they possibly say to Tsubasa to make her feel better? Yes, they’ve managed to overcome their differences and were doing their best to make a happy home for Tsubasa but the fact remained the marriage was never meant to last for life, no one was thinking about long-term. The initial conflict was accepting the new arrangement and learning how to get along. They did, they even fell in love and now they were raising Tsubasa until she was old enough to take care of herself, then the marriage would be dissolved and they could go back to living how they were before. Unfortunately, no one had ever told the kids this arrangement and it looked like the six of them didn’t like it, at all. In the end, neither of them spoke.

            Iruka and Kakashi both had their eyes on the floor, trying to think of a way to get out of this sticky talk. Hikaru was really upset and they both knew how strongly he felt about love and family, there was no easy way to explain this to him. They both loved each other, they admitted it and it was real, but never did they say that they would stay married forever. They had both been very aware of the until eighteen years old rule but nor did they bring it up with each other either. That was a conversation really best to be held between them, privately. Unable to think of something to make Hikaru feel better, they both ended up staying quiet.

            Kankuro didn’t want to say “tough luck kiddo” to his son, because one, that was actually kind of being an asshole and two, Kana would just throw a fit. Basically, he never intended on staying married to Kiba forever. Yeah, the sex was great and he kinda did admit love a few weeks ago, but was it really love, or was it infatuation? After all, they have been thrown together in a wild situation that caused a lot of internal changes in him. If this had never happened, hell _no_ would he have “fallen in love” with Kiba, he didn’t even really like him before and he thought he was weak when he had to save Kiba’s life from Sakon and Ukon, enemies that took Kankuro like five minutes to kill. Yeah it made them allies but love and sex? Nah…Kankuro didn’t think his thoughts meant that once Kiba was twenty-one, or once Kana was old enough to look after himself he would completely ditch but at the same time he had never thought _let’s be married forever and ever._ Kankuro didn’t say anything, he couldn’t say “tough luck” and if he said something else, it would be like “get over it” which was also being an asshole. It was best he took the high road with this one and didn’t talk at all.

            Kiba saw the very stoic expression on Kankuro’s face and it scared him deep down. Kiba didn’t know how it happened or why, but he _had_ fallen in love with Kankuro, somehow with Kankuro being such a dick all the time but it did happen and it was real, what he felt for Kankuro was really love. Yes, he didn’t know about the twenty-one years old rule and he had completely forgotten about only being married until Kana was eighteen because once he was in love with Kankuro, in his mind, that meant their marriage was for life. What would he do if once he had his birthday, Kankuro packed up and left? And didn’t Kankuro confess love to him? Just as he thought it, he remembered exactly what Kankuro had responded with when Kiba told him that he loved him, _I’ll admit I can’t really say the words so…ditto._ Great Kami, wasn’t that the biggest cop-out ever? And yet, Kiba had been so foolishly happy he never called him out on it. Kankuro didn’t love him back…and now Kana wanted to know if they were going to break up, divorce and if Kankuro was going to leave the family. Kiba saw Kana staring at his parents, tears rimming his eyes and he couldn’t think up anything to say, to comfort him, because right now, Kiba needed comforting too. So Kiba didn’t speak and just focused on trying not to cry as well.

            Asuma didn’t like the mean look in Sora’s eyes, he really didn’t want her to crush his throat or rip it out because he had a bad feeling if she attempted to kill him he wouldn’t be able to stop her. Not only did his daughter inherit super strength, she also had super ambition and super smarts. She’d be unstoppable on the battlefield as well as impossible to win an argument against. Great…. He declined to say anything, this conversation wouldn’t end well, not for his health or his life.

            Shikamaru saw how the other parents weren’t making any attempts at speaking, and the children were looking frustrated, ready to start shouting. So, he knelt to their height and said, “Listen to me. I know this is a very difficult time for you, you learned about the circumstances of your birth, why we’re married, even the truth of your parents gender. The fact is, our situation is very unique, in fact, its never been done before. No one really knows for sure what’s going to happen, we are taking this day by day, none of us are thinking so far in the future. Yes, by law, we will be allowed to divorce should we wish once you are eighteen and old enough to take care of yourselves but that doesn’t mean we _will_ or that we _have_ to. It’s a decision between us adults that we’ll make once its time. That said, there’s no reason for you little ones to worry your heads about it, it really doesn’t concern you and there’s no need for you to ask about it. Your parents love you very much and we won’t do anything that’s going to hurt you for the purpose of hurting you. Just live your lives as happily and healthily as you can and we’ll see how everything turns out as it happens, okay? There’s no reason to be upset or angry or afraid, nothing is going to change for a long time. Everyone understand? So, can I see some smiles please?”

            Sora hugged Shikamaru, nodding through some tears, “Yes, I understand. Just don’t break up, please!”

            Miki and Mika looked at each other, then nodded at their parents, not saying anything.

            Kana didn’t like it but when Kiba opened his arms, he immediately hugged his mother, not wanting to let go then he went to his father, who actually hugged him too. Kankuro wasn’t much of a hugger or showed a lot of physical affection to Kana, so Kana’s heart was soothed and he felt better about it.

            Hikaru couldn’t smile or understand, because he had very much wanted to have a _real_ family, a family who loved each other. His father loved him and his mother loved him and they said they loved each other, he was right there when they said it, but was it all a lie? If they never intended on staying married forever, what if they only said I love you to trick Hikaru, just to con him into happiness? This wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right. Hikaru walked away to sit by himself, not wanting to even see his parents right now. Nothing was real, he was probably not even human, his birth was a science experiment and his life was a lie. Nothing was making sense anymore.

            Tsubasa had listened very carefully to Shikamaru’s words and she understand totally but she had also seen her parents reaction, how they looked at each other and made the _I dunno_ gesture with their shoulders. Had they been planning all along to not stay married? It was like the marriage was sham, a fake story pulled over her eyes until she was old enough to have it ripped away. Her parents loved her, and she had heard them saying I love you to each other. So if they loved each other, all of them as a family, there was no real reason to divorce. That said, a smile came over her face. Her parents were definitely going to stay together, she had nothing to worry about. So she hugged Neji then hugged Sasuke, feeling at ease.

            The door was knocked on, then walking inside was the Fourth Hokage, Ibiki and Lady Tsunade.

            “Alright,” said Minato, taking a seat. “Let’s do the health evaluations first. Tsunade, take it away.”

            Tsunade flipped through the papers in her hands then faced the families, who had come back together to listen to the news. “Each of the children are healthy, no problems at all, perfect shape.”    

            “What about the black blood?” burst in Hikaru. “Tell us about that!”

            “Yeah!”

            “We wanna know!”

            “Speak!”

            The other children chimed in.

            Tsunade held her hand up for silence, then once it was quiet, said, “After testing the fluid, I realized it wasn’t blood at all, but something completely different, and not a natural substance, such as phlegm or bile. In fact, that fluid is the Male Pregnancy Serum that was used to create the children in the first place.”

            Everyone gasped.

            Shikamaru said, “Wait a minute. You mean…what we drank, myself and the others, that serum, that’s inside the bodies of the children?”

            Tsunade nodded. “Yes. Think of it like its extra serum, excess that wasn’t fully absorbed into their system and an initial cut makes a bit of it seep out. Its nothing to worry about it, everyone should relax. You are definitely still human Hikaru, and the rest of you. You can from now on ignore the fluid when you get cut, it won’t hurt you or anyone else.”

            There was a round of relieved sighs and Hikaru got tight hugs from his parents.

            “Next,” said Minato. “Is the results of the intelligence evaluations. Ibiki, you’re up.”

            “First,” said Ibiki, looking at the families. “Is I want to know if you’re okay with the results being revealed in a group. If you’d rather hear separately, you can tell me.”

            Naruto said, “I don’t mind if everyone hears, unless,” he looked at his twins. “You’d prefer being told privately?”

            “It doesn’t matter,” said Sora with a shrug. “Its not like we won’t tell our scores anyway.”

            Kana nodded. “Go ahead! Let’s hear it! I’m sure I did really well, definitely better than Hikaru!”

            Hikaru rolled his eyes but didn’t respond to Kana’s boasting. Iruka placed a hand on Hikaru’s shoulder and also gave Kiba a stern look. Kiba made a face, it wasn’t like he told Kana to be a bully to Hikaru, he didn’t start it!

            “Okay,” said Ibiki. “The evaluation had three sections, Verbal Comprehension, Perceptual Reasoning and Working Memory. Each sections had two tests and each test had three questions each, besides Digit Span which has four. This makes for a total of nineteen questions. I’ll start with Hikaru.”

            He lifted up a chart with Hikaru’s name on it. Hikaru gulped and stood up straighter, he held Iruka’s hand tightly.

            Ibiki said, “Hikaru made 0/3 points on Vocabulary and 2/3 points on Similarities, for a total of 2/6 points for Verbal Comprehension. Hikaru made 3/3 points on Picture Concepts and 3/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 6/6 points on Perceptual Reasoning. Hikaru made 3½/4 points on Digit Span and 1/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 4½/7 points on Working Memory. His final score on the intelligence exam is 12½ out of 19 points, for a total of 63%. That completes my report on Hikaru’s results.”

            Hikaru’s face fell, he looked so disappointed.

            Iruka kissed his forehead. “Didn’t you hear Hikaru? You made full marks on Perceptual Reasoning, that’s very good.”

            Kakashi said disgruntledly, “Yeah, that was the easiest part of the exam, he just had to look at pictures for Kami’s sake. If _you_ weren’t listening Iruka, he bombed the Verbal Comprehension and barely squeaked by on Working Memory. 12 out of 19 points? 63%? No son of mine will make scores that low, not again.”

            Hikaru’s shoulders cinched inwards, he bit hard on his lower lip then pulled his mask up over his face, his eyes lowered to the ground. Iruka’s lip curled but Ibiki cut him off.

            Ibiki said, “How about this, can I finish the results before you make comments? I’ll do Miki and Mika’s results now. Their testing was different from the others, in which they had one question each, then with a third question for them to try to answer at the same time, whoever got it right received the point. They have a solitary score, so one at a time.”

            He shifted Hikaru’s chart to the back, then said, “I’ll start with Miki.”

            Miki crossed his arms and lifted his chin, eyes focused on Ibiki, listening hard.

            “Miki made 1 out of 2 points on Vocabulary and 1 out of 2 points on Similarities, for a total of 2/4 for Verbal Comprehension. He made 0/2 points on Picture Concepts and 1 out of 2 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 1 out of 4 points on Perceptual Reasoning. Miki made 1 out of 2 points on Digit Span and 0/2 points on Letter-Numbering Sequencing, for a total of 1 out of 4 points for Working Memory. His final score is 4 out of 12 points, for a total of 33%. That completes my report for Miki’s results.”

            Miki’s jaw dropped, he sputtered, “W-w- _what_? 33%?? I did _that_ bad?”

            Naruto patted his shoulder. “It was your first exam Miki, no one expects a stellar result. Its okay, because once you’re going to the Academy and getting a formal education, you’ll make tons better grades. Don’t let it bother you too much, okay? Ibiki, tell us Mika’s now.”

            Ibiki moved Miki’s chart to the back and started to read Mika’s results. “Mika made 2/2 points on Vocabulary and 1 out of 2 points on Similarities, for a total of 3 out of 4 points on Verbal Comprehension. She made 2/2 points on Picture Concepts and 2/2 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 4/4 points on Perceptual Reasoning. Mika made 2/2 points on Digit Span and 1 out of 2 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 3 points out of 4 on Working Memory. Her final score is 10 points of 12 points, for a total of 83%. That completes my report for Mika’s results.”

            “Good job,” said Gaara, giving Mika a small smile as she cheered at her grade.

            Miki looked angry for a second then shrugged. “You did good at the books Mika, but in the Academy, we’ll see who’s the better ninja.”

            Mika smiled at him. “I don’t want to compete Miki. Let’s just both do our best, okay?”

            Sasuke suddenly said, “Let’s have Tsubasa’s results privately, okay? We’ll come outside and hear it.”

            Tsubasa frowned. “Huh? Why? I don’t mind everyone knowing.”

            Neji knew exactly why Sasuke wanted Tsubasa’s results private and he kind of agreed. Himself and Sasuke had very prestigious lineages, and reputations to upkeep. Neither wanted the entire world to know just how badly Tsubasa had performed on her test. She definitely did worse than Miki’s 33%, she probably made more like a 10%.

            Ibiki said, “Okay, if you’ll step outside.”

            Tsubasa protested, “No! Its not fair mine is secret and everyone else gets to share! Just say it Mr. Ibiki, I want to know with everyone!”

            Ibiki looked at the parents. “Which one is it?”

            Sasuke grumbled, “Fine, whatever. As long as it never happens again.”

            Tsubasa didn’t understand but Neji said, “We’ll get her the best instructor the Academy has. And tutoring if she needs it.”

            Ibiki said, “Are you ready?”

            Tsubasa nodded eagerly. “Tell it, tell it!”

            Ibiki looked down at Tsubasa’s chart. “Alright. Tsubasa made 1/3 points on Vocabulary, and 0/3 points on Similarities, for a total of 1/6 points on Verbal Comprehension. She made 0/3 points on Picture Concepts and 0/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 0/6 points for Perceptual Reasoning. She made 0/4 points on Digit Span and 0/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 0/7 points for Working Memory. Her final score is 1/19 points, for a total of 5%. That completes my report on Tsubasa’s results.”

            Sasuke had his face in his hands, though the skin of his neck and ears were red, he was extremely embarrassed. Neji’s eyes were averted from everyone in the room, his hands curled into fists. Tsubasa saw her parents reactions and she blinked, wondering exactly why they were acting that way. What was wrong with 5%? She heard the other scores, Hikaru made 63, Miki made 33 and Mika made 83, everyone was making different numbers, so what did 5 mean that it made her parents upset?

            “Yikes,” said Kiba straightforwardly. “You guys really need to get a handle on things, don’t you?”

            Sasuke and Neji both flinched as if they had gotten whipped but didn’t say anything.

            “Sora is next,” said Shikamaru, not wanting the conversation to turn to bashing the Uchiha-Hyuga’s household parenting skills, or harassing Tsubasa about her low score. He had to admit, he wasn’t expecting that at all. Tsubasa had a genius Hyuga for a mother and a prodigy Uchiha for a father, she should have made an extremely high score. Then again, her parents had admitted they didn’t teach her anything, food, sleep and TV was all she did. No amount of inherited prestigious blood could magically make her extremely smart. Even Sora, who had definitely inherited his genius intellect, it would have been impossible for her to make a high score if she didn’t do as much reading and writing as she did, all the times they studied together.

            Ibiki shifted Tsubasa’s chart to the back. “Sora made 3/3 points on Vocabulary and 3/3 points on Similarities, with a total of 6/6 points on Verbal Comprehension. She made 3/3 points on Picture Concepts and 3/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 6/6 points on Perceptual Reasoning. She made 4/4 points on Digit Span and 3/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 7/7 points on Working Memory. Her final score is 19/19 points, with a total of 100%. That completes my report on Sora’s results.”

            Sora smiled up at her parents. “That was too easy! Even Kana agreed that it was brain-draining, I bet he did really well, right Kana?”

            “Don’t answer that,” said Kankuro dully before Kana could. “Let’s just hear it Ibiki.”

            Ibiki moved Tsubasa’s to the back, now Kana’s was at the front. “Okay. Kana made 0/3 points on Vocabulary and 0/3 points on Similarities, for a total of 0/6 points on Verbal Comprehension. He made 0/3 points on Picture Concepts and 0/3 points on Picture Completion, for a total of 0/6 points on Perceptual Reasoning. He made 0/4 points on Digit Span and 0/3 points on Letter-Number Sequencing, for a total of 0/7 points on Working Memory. His final score is 0/19 points, for a total of 0%. That completes my report on Kana’s results.”

            “Wow, wait a minute.” Hikaru looked confused. “I thought I was the stupid one…but I made such a higher score than Kana.” He looked at the shame-faced boy. “Hey, Kana, spell stupid.”

            Kana’s mouth pulled down and he murmured, “K-A-N-A. Stupid.” Then with a long whine, he started crying.

            “Hikaru!” Iruka flicked the boy’s forehead. “That was so mean-hearted! You need to apologize!”

            “No he doesn’t,” said Kakashi as Kiba rushed to comfort his son. “Kana started it, so Hikaru ended it. Well done Hikaru, priceless.”

            Kankuro sighed heavily. “Two things Kakashi. One, yeah, Kana did start it but that didn’t mean Hikaru had to finish it, he could have just asked for Kana to apologize to him. Two, you don’t encourage kids for being jerkoffs, really? You basically just told Hikaru being a bastard to other people was okay.”

            Kakashi shot back, “Then maybe you should teach your kid some basic manners _and_ basic smarts. Maybe Hikaru didn’t do the greatest but he didn’t make a 0 score either. Hikaru was in his rights with what he said to Kana, that kid deserved it.”

            Just like that, Kankuro and Kakashi were arguing, Kana was wailing, and everyone else were just either standing there awkwardly waiting it out or trying to get the two men to stop shouting at each other.

            Minato whispered something in Tsunade’s ear and she left. She came back in two minutes with the bullhorn and shouted into it, “ENOUGH!!”

            It was so loud it bounced off the walls and everyone’s ears rang, forcing them to cover their ears and stop talking.

            “Good, thank you Tsunade,” said Minato, who was astounded at how quickly the conversation turned into this fracas. Also, he hadn’t realized there would be such a difference between the children’s scores. Seeing as they all grew to the same age and all came from the same serum, he expected them to have the same grade, or at least all in the same range. In fact, each child had complete unique scores. Miki with his 33%, Tsubasa made 5%, Kana who had a resounding 0% and Sora who made the perfect 100%, Hikaru who made a 63% and Mika with her 83%, there was no similarities to be drawn. Everyone did differently but it did reveal one thing to Minato that was very important, and that was the fact that despite their growth, they still had extremely young childish brains. Even if they did grow into the physical age and size of an eighteen year old within this year or next year, there was no way they’d all be smart enough to live on their own. Despite it all, children were children.

            “This is it,” said Minato, eyes on the families. “This was the first monthly evaluation but I’ve decided that’s the only one necessary. The children are just that, _children_. No amount of evaluating month by month is going to magically give them the brain of an eighteen year old and be ready to live on their own. Like I’ve said, the children can go to the Academy and become ninjas, saying they are able to pass the exams. Now, my role in your lives, besides as your Hokage, is completely finished. You five are married and have children, now be married and raised your kids. There’s nothing else I should be involved in now. I’ve heard that you mothers are getting your chakra back so I’ll have your names put back on the roster and you can begin taking missions again, Iruka you can go back to teaching at the Academy as normal. Officially, your life is your own. I have no more decrees to make, I have no more instructions for you. I’ll give the last reminder, the marriages are to remain until the children are eighteen _and_ able to take care of themselves. So, that’s it. You’re free to go.”

            And that was it. All of the trials and tribulations, from the experiment, the aftermath, being forced into marriage _and_ consummating the marriages, the exams, having arguments, learning to get along and even falling in love for the most part, it had all come to its final conclusion.

            Like Minato had said, their lives were their own. And the trouble should finally be over…or was it just beginning?


	8. Toil and Trouble 1: Kakashi

_Kakashi_

             There was a stunned silence at first, broken by Miki’s loud demand, “I’m so hungry! Let’s go get ramen!”

            “Yeah!” Mika agreed wholeheartedly.

            _Little Naruto’s, they’re like incarnations of him._

            Hikaru piped eagerly, “I want ice-cream! Vanilla with strawberry syrup in the shape of MHH!”

            Iruka’s hand covered his mouth, Iruka said, “We can have ramen first then ice cream for dessert. Hikaru, please don’t say that ever again. Understand?”

            Iruka sliced me a look as if it was my fault. Yeah, Hikaru clearly took a lot from me but I’ve never once in my life asked for syrup in the shape of a woman’s breasts. I did NOT tell him that!

            Sasuke took Tsubasa’s hand. “We’re not going to eat, we’re going straight to the Academy to get Tsubasa signed up. After that we can eat.”

            “Eat first,” insisted Naruto. “They’ve been in testing for like three hours straight. Give her a break Sasuke, let’s all go out to eat together, then we can go to the Academy as a group. Who’s with me?”

            “I AM!” The children cheered.

            “Well Ichiraku’s isn’t going to be able to sit all sixteen of us,” I pointed out as we were leaving. “We need a large sit down restaurant, how about Yakiniku Q?”

            It was decided to go to Yakiniku Q and I drove with Iruka and Hikaru, with everyone else in their own cars. Once in the restaurant, the waiter immediately took the sixteen of us to one of the back party rooms, where the long tables easily sat twenty guests. We chose a table with seven chairs on the length side then two chairs at the width side. Everyone sat down and conversation soon began.

            “Meat, meat, meat!” Kana chanted eagerly, pounding his fists on the table.

            “Kana, don’t act like an animal,” instructed his mother Kiba, sitting on his right side. “Do you act like that at home? No, so don’t do it in public.”

            From Kana’s left side, Kankuro muttered, “He acts like that anywhere. And Kana doesn’t have home training because the bastard refuses to be trained.”

            Kana didn’t seem offended or hurt that his father had just cursed at him, he grinned and acclaimed, “I’m a wild dog!”

            Tsubasa’s nose wrinkled with distaste. “And you smell like one too!”

            Tsubasa sat directly across from Kiba, with her parents on either side. Neji was at my left side, with Iruka on the right. Sasuke was across from Kana.

            Kana bared his teeth at her, complete with sharp incisors for intimidation and a low warning growl, it sounded pretty good for a kid. Tsubasa’s eyes flared bright red and veins crumpled up around her temples, turning her soft baby face into a visage of demonic proportions. Kana flinched with a short yelp and lowered himself down in his chair until just the tip of his forehead was visible, flushed pink.

            The other children laughed but us adults were staring at each other.

            I glanced at Iruka first, he looked at me with blankly shocked eyes.

            I looked at Neji and Sasuke, who were both gaping at their daughter.

            I asked, “What was that just now? Because…was that the Sharingan… _or_ the Byakugan?”

            Before they could answer, the waiter arrived and took everyone’s drink orders, as well as what type of meat and sides to bring to the table. Once the waiter was gone, the attempt to talk about Tsubasa’s mixed up kekkei genkai had passed as the conversation moved on. However I didn’t forget it at all and I looked at Hikaru with a wondering eye, who was sitting next to Iruka.

            _Did Hikaru inherit the Sharingan from me possibly? The Sharingan is a kekkei genkai in the blood but I am perfectly able to use it with just a simple eye transplant despite not being an Uchiha. That must mean Uchiha blood is now in my veins, yes? And if so, then Hikaru should have Uchiha blood from me meaning he must have the Sharingan as well. Yet even with that, Hikaru has not shown any type of ninjutsu prowess. True, Iruka told me not to start training him until we knew whether or not he’d be a ninja so I didn’t, but still, the other children are using ninjutsu just fine without being taught. Sora and the shadow jutsu, Miki and his abilities with sand, and even Tsubasa has her dōjutsu activating. But with Hikaru…nothing._

            Iruka touched my hand. “Kakashi, let’s just enjoy lunch together, okay? We can think about all of that other stuff later. This is family and friend time right now.”

            I nodded and I looked over at Neji and Sasuke, who were both focused on their child who was now having a staring contest with Kana, which seemed to end with Kana getting scared and flinching back, only to attempt and fail to out-stare her again.

            Far down on the table from me, Sora was talking with Mika, they were exchanging their hopes about going to the Academy, getting a good teacher, the other students and becoming _real_ ninjas. They were sitting side by side, suggesting the girls were already close friends. Sora’s parents were on the opposite side of the table, with Shikamaru next to Naruto and Asuma next to Sasuke.

            Miki wasn’t saying anything but focusing on building a small sandcastle on the table. Naruto told him to stop and the sand filtered away but once Naruto looked away, Miki starting building again. Naruto, talking with Shikamaru, also didn’t seem to notice Gaara who was right next to him was giving Miki instructions on how to make the smaller fine details with his sand.

            The drinks arrived and soon after the food, which everyone began to grill on the three braziers that lined the table. The meat sizzled and gave off the strong thick scent of cooking dead flesh, while the vegetables were also letting off their garden earthy stench.

            Instantly my stomach rebelled and only my strict Anbu training stopped me from hurling right then. _My God…the food smells like sewage!_ I plugged my nose with chakra and completely blocked out the sickening scent.

            From how everyone else looked eager and hungry, even Kana was drooling, I knew it was just me who felt nauseas and disgusted. Luckily I knew no one would question me about why I wasn’t eating, I never ate in public, not unless people were distracted and I could inhale my food without anyone noticing my mask was down.

            Now unable to smell the food, I instead paid attention to talking and socializing, no one could tell that I was nauseated enough to nearly puke.

            Suddenly Hikaru clinked his chopstick on his glass and stood up, holding up his drink. “I’d like to propose a toast! If I could have everyone’s attention please.”

            The room did go silent and eyes turned to Hikaru. I personally wondered what the heck this kid was doing. A toast?

            “I’d like to toast our parents,” he said, looking serious, meeting the eyes of myself and Iruka. “Because if it wasn’t for their curiosity and possible stupidity, the six of us wouldn’t be here today. So, let’s thank them! Kanpai!”

            “Kanpai!”

            All the kids drank, along with Shikamaru, Kiba, Iruka, Neji and Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara. Kankuro paused for a good few seconds before he took a polite sip. Asuma looked like he wasn’t going to drink until Sora glanced at him worriedly from across the table and he did drink. I drank quickly while everyone else’s eyes were closed, though I had to think about this.

            _If it wasn’t for our curiosity and possible stupidity. Wow…Hikaru hit the nail on the head. Seriously, we’re all Jounin or Chunnin here, what about hearing Orochimaru recruiting men for semen, DNA, and volunteers for making wombs, didn’t send off alarm bells? And he’s right, if we all said hell no then, Hikaru, Sora, Tsubasa, and the rest, they wouldn’t be here._

            Iruka smiled warmly at me, his brown eyes twinkling. I knew he was pleased that I drank to the toast rather than refusing and hurting Hikaru’s feelings.

            Right now Hikaru had challenged Kiba to an eating contest, calling the man Miss Kiba. Kiba did seem to be slightly annoyed at the “miss” prefix but also did accept the gauntlet. Despite Kiba doing his best at inhaling the beef on his plate, Hikaru was downing beef, pork and rice, along with his vegetables that Iruka kept putting on his plate.

            I watched as Kana was eating hungrily yet managing to get his food all over the table, his mouth and his shirt, was anything actually making it into the chomping carnivorous hole he called his mouth? Kana was only eating meat, no rice or vegetables. Kankuro wasn’t bothering to tell Kana to straighten up, he just had his arm shielding his plate and bowl from Kana’s theatrical gulping, resulting his sleeve being peppered in flecks yet his plate safe.

            _Kana is just as much of a dog boy as is Kiba. I feel so sorry for Kankuro._

            Sora and Mika were still happily chattering, this time about inheriting certain abilities from their parents, Sora was pleased about her progress with the Nara clan shadow jutsu and couldn’t wait to get even better at it. Mika had only mastered making one shadow clone at time and had no affinity with sand, but was sure with the proper training she’d become more masterful.

            _Those girls are ambitious. Sora is the opposite of Shikamaru, who couldn’t be less ambitious if he tried. Mika is much like Naruto, I’m still waiting for her to exclaim she wants to be the first female Hokage._

            Miki had built a towering three foot tall sandcastle on the table where his plate should be, instead the sand had a balcony opening where his plate was sitting and he was using small hands made out of sand to collect food to bring to his plate and even feed him, his arms were crossed over his chest. Even more stunning was that Gaara was also using sand-hands to feed him, his arms were crossed behind his head, completely relaxed. Even with that, both of their expressions were blank as snow, as if they _weren’t_ doing something that was really kind of cool.

            _Father like son all the way those two. Look alike, act like, speak alike. Gaara hit the jackpot with Miki._

            Naruto was irritated, telling Gaara that he was teaching Miki to be lazy and his muscles would atrophy and his body deformed because his sand would do everything for him. Gaara either didn’t hear or was truly ignoring Naruto because he didn’t stop or tell Miki to stop, who was also ignoring Naruto telling him to use his _real_ hands.

            _Poor Naruto, his son is completely in Gaara’s control. Well, at least he has Mika who is just like him. Maybe once Naruto is of age, Gaara will take Miki back with him to Sunagakure and Naruto keeps Mika, splitting the family equally in half. Damn, that would suck. The entire point of the marriages were so the kids didn’t have broken homes but maybe that won’t work out as well as Minato had planned._

            Shikamaru and Asuma were side by side but they weren’t talking, just seeming to enjoy each other’s company. Shikamaru regularly brushed Asuma’s arm or side which Asuma gently rubbed his shoulder against Shikamaru. It was very tender and no words needed to be said.

            _Are they in love? I know the history, Asuma became a vicious uncontrolled drunk that made him abusive to Shikamaru. Shikamaru left him and was hospitalized, Shikaku beat Asuma nearly to death who only didn’t die because he had Lady Tsunade on his case. Asuma gave some sort of great speech to the powers that be and Shikamaru forgave him. So they’re working it out, along with therapy sessions to keep the peace. I don’t recall Asuma telling me he was in love with Shikamaru though and Iruka didn’t tell me that Shikamaru said the same. Still, they’ve made the most progress out of all of us._

            Sasuke was trying to get Tsubasa to show him her Sharingan but with each request, her eyes turned red missing the black tomoe markings and veins rippled around her temples and eyes. It was like the girl was trying to activate both the Sharingan and the Byakugan at the same time, resulting in making neither dōjutsu completely. Neji was telling Sasuke to let it go so Tsubasa could eat but Tsubasa refused to feed herself, opening her mouth for the food to be placed inside by Neji. Neji tried to get her to use her chopsticks but she didn’t bother trying to hold on, just pointed at her open mouth making “uhn uhn uhn” sounds indicating she was hungry. So, sighing, Neji submitted and fed Tsubasa by hand while Sasuke tested her dōjutsu.

            _And those two are the worst parents out of the bunch. To think, a pair of geniuses like Neji and Sasuke gave birth to a dud like Tsubasa. A 5% on her intelligence exam? Kami, that must bite. I’m sure Hiashi and Fugaku are going to have some words to say about their famed Hyuiha heiress being an idiot, spoilt and bratty princess. They need to get their act together because if Tsubasa goes to the Academy expecting her classmates to wait on her hand and foot, she’ll get a really rude awakening, like someone will punch her right in her snooty face. Poor thing. Poor Neji and Sasuke._

            Iruka nudged me, saying, “I’m taking Hikaru to the bathroom, he’s got a stomachache. Be back.”

            I nodded and watched him help lift Hikaru up from his seat, who’s face was vaguely green mottled and his stomach was pouched round enough that _he_ looked pregnant. Kiba looked fine and was using his arm to wipe his mouth, made a burp and muttered, “Excuse me.”

            Kana was sleep, his head resting on Kankuro’s arm, mouth open and drooling enough to make a pool on the table underneath his chin. Kankuro had his other elbow on the table, his hand holding up his chin and his eyes were closed, he had fallen sleep too!

_That’s father like son right there as well._

            I turned my eyes to Sora and Mika, they were both eagerly talking, in fact, I don’t think they stopped talking the moment they sat down together. The conversation had turned to the most essential topic, boys. Sora was explaining she didn’t really care about boyfriends, she cared about her career. Mika wanted to be like Naruto, able to become a boy or a girl at will and wondered if she wanted to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, or maybe have both and switch on and off depending on what gender she wanted to be that day.

            _Well, Sora has her mind on the right track but Mika is even weirder than Naruto. Yes, Naruto is perverted to have created the awe-inspiring Sexy Jutsu, but Mika is taking the idea to a completely different level, higher and more intense than I have ever imagined using the Sexy Jutsu for. She is going to have the entire Academy completely confused with her gender-bent ideas. I can only assume that Naruto is regularly switching from Naruto to Naruko on such a daily basis that Mika has become entranced by it. That makes me wonder what Gaara’s role in this is, why is Naruto pretending to be a girl all the time? Are they having some seriously kinky sex and now Mika has been twisted by it? And what about Miki? Does he want to be gender-bent too? What would their second genders be named? Mika’s boy form would be Miko and Miki’s girl form would be Maki? Wait, why am I thinking about this?_

            Miki was gathering his sandcastle back into his gourd, saying to his father, “Next time, I’m making it life-sized. I’ll have twenty bedrooms, ten basketball courts, three saunas and I want an inside beach, complete with an ocean.”

            _Whoa…what?_

            Gaara was nodding seriously, he held his chin, saying thoughtfully, “And a football field, and three always stocked buffet tables, and also a stripper pole...um.”

            He went quiet as Naruto’s head swiveled like an owl and he pierced Gaara with intense blue eyes.

            Gaara recovered, saying, “A maid, who helps take laundry off the lines, stripping the clothes off the laundry line.”

            _A brave recovery attempt…and failed._

            Naruto’s face was turning red and he slowly stood up, his chest was pulling in air to clearly start shouting.

            Shikamaru and Asuma made quick work of disappearing, taking Sora with them with goodbyes tossed over their shoulders.

            Sasuke carried Tsubasa, her arms around his neck, legs around his waist while he escaped the impending screaming match. Neji left with him, he made the goodbyes.

            Kiba shook awake Kana and Kankuro, who both had drool on their faces and shirts, eyes droopy. Kankuro blinked into clarity and saw Naruto was still slowly building up to pop, he jumped up and quickly left, leaving Kiba and Kana to hurry after him, both calling out goodbyes.

            I would like to leave too, but Iruka and Hikaru hadn’t returned from the bathroom. Besides, since when was Gaara into strippers? Far as I knew, he had been vastly asexual until he was ordered to marry Naruto. He never came with the rest of us husbands when we bar-hopped and went to clubs at night before going home. Did that mean Gaara was into going to strip clubs by himself, not telling anyone where he was going? How many times did he tell Naruto he was on a mission when in fact he was doing something completely different? Totally busted and now he was about to pay for his slip of the tongue.

            Mika had her hands over her ears, Miki had sand plugged in his eardrums.

            Naruto’s mouth opened and he bellowed exactly what I had been thinking. “AND JUST WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU KNOW ABOUT STRIPPER POLES GAARA?? HUH? WHAT ARE YOU DOING WHEN YOU’RE OUT OF THE HOUSE UNTIL LATE, TELL ME THAT! AND HOW DARE YOU SPEAK OF STRIPPERS TO OUR SON? HE’S NOT EVEN A FULL MONTH OLD AND YOU’RE FILLING HIS HEAD WITH NASTY TALK LIKE THAT! YOU’D BETTER NOT BE CHEATING ON ME GAARA OR I SWEAR-!”

            Gaara clasped his hands over his ears and raised his eyes to the ceiling, his mouth tightened. It was obvious to me he was trying to give Naruto the sign that he wasn’t going to respond to being screeched on like he was a misbehaving kid but Naruto had a lot to say and wasn’t lowering his volume either.

            I didn’t have sand to plug my ears with but building up chakra in my eardrums had significantly helped, it was like I had taken control of Naruto’s mouth with a remote control and brought the sound down several notches. I could still hear his words clearly however. I hadn’t unplugged my nose, there was plenty of food still on the table, I’d wait until I was out of the restaurant. For now, I’d just sit here listening to Gaara get ripped a new one.

            “And if you think I’ll just sit back and let you run around on me you’ve got another thing coming! I don’t give a damn about your so-called diplomatic immunity, I will take that immunity and ram it down your throat the moment I catch you with another woman! If you really think I’m so unable to met your needs then you can get out now and go sleep with some stripper ho in the streets because you are not welcome in my house when-”

            Iruka came back, his hands were clamped over Hikaru’s ears who was staring in wide-eyed excitement. Iruka jerked his chin at me, I stood up and left, I looked back over my shoulders and thought, _well, someone’s sleeping on the couch tonight._

            Iruka’s mouth was moving but I couldn’t hear him. _Oh_. I released the chakra in my ears and heard Iruka say, “You do realize we left the Subaku’s to pay the bill, right?”

            I blinked. It was true that none of the other families left money when they escaped the restaurant, in fact, they were in such a hurry to get away from the impending argument that none of them had waited around to pay. Also, what about the plan to all go to the Academy together to sign up as a group?

            I released the chakra in my nose, letting out a sigh at the fresh clean air. I didn’t know why the scent of food had nearly made me sick but maybe I was coming down with a cold or something. Wasn’t really important.

            I asked, “Do you think we should go back?”

            Hikaru held his loudly gurgling stomach, his head bowed down.

            He warbled, “I think there’s more left in there Mom. Its ready to come out.”

            “We’re at the car now,” said Iruka. “Get in and hold it until we get home.”

            Hikaru shook his head vigorously, his knees turned inward and he was hunkering down.

            He said thickly, “No, no, I can’t wait.”

            My eyes bugged then narrowed into slits. “Hikaru, if you seriously pop a squat and shit right here on the sidewalk in front of a major restaurant, I will take that shit and shove it back up your ass, then you’re going to wait until we get home to use a toilet like normal sane people. Now stand up straight, get in the car and hold it, got that?”

           I hadn’t taken that heated rough tone with him before, or anyone in a long time.

            Hikaru paled and shakily stood up straight, his hands clenched over his butt.

            “Yes sir,” he grunted. “I got it.”

            I used the key remote to unlock the doors to my passion red Ford Mustang and Iruka helped Hikaru in, then with us in the front seats, I drove away. I wasn’t going to speed home just because Hikaru had to poop, I don’t get speeding tickets for anyone.

            Iruka hissed, “Hey, Kakashi, can’t you put on a little speed? Hikaru’s face is turning red, he’s really got to go.”

            I said firmly, “Then the little idiot should have known better about eating a shit-ton of food without drinking any water. I’m driving the speed limit, its fine.”

            Hikaru made a deep grunt from the back and shouted, “It’s coming out!”

            I leaned over my shoulder, “Hikaru, you’d better suck it back up your hole! I have leather seats and you’re not getting one spec of shit on that cream upholstery, understand?”

            Iruka was getting upset now. “Kakashi! It’s not that hard to just drive a little faster!”

            I stopped a stop sign, saying firmly, “It’s not like he’s a toddler anymore, he’s nearly a man, he knows how to hold it.”

            Hikaru made a strangled groan. “It’s coming now!” and my sharp nose caught a whiff.

            “NOT ON MY SEATS!” I shouted and hit the gas, getting home in record time and somehow managing not to get any Uchiha officers on my tail.

            Hikaru leapt out of the car, the back of his pants was stained and he ran towards the house, with Iruka behind him. I turned in my seat and saw the brown smudge staining my once cream leather.

            _Its okay Hatake, its okay. Hikaru is going to clean this up with a toothbrush while I whip the skin off his ass. That’ll teach him about shitting anywhere but in a toilet._

            I unrolled the windows so the smell wouldn’t permeate my Mustang and got out. The front door was wide open and I walked into the house, closing the door behind me.

            Iruka was saying kindly over Hikaru’s wailing, “I know you’re embarrassed and yes Dad is going to be angry but crying like this isn’t helping. Get naked and into the shower, a tissue isn’t going to clean this mess.”

            The door was knocked on behind me, loud and heavy, like the police.

            _Great. Busted._

            I opened the door and indeed it was Fugaku Uchiha standing there, in uniform with his cruiser at the curb.

            “Hey, officer,” I started, wondering how to get out of a ticket.

            _You see, my son had to shit real bad so I was speeding to get him to a toilet. Yeah, that’ll go over real well._

            “Is Hikaru here?” Fugaku crossed his arms over his chest. “I just wanted to talk to him for a minute.”

            Now I frowned. “Hikaru? Yeah, he’s in the shower but what do you need him for?”

            “Can I come in?”

            “Sure.” I stepped back to let the captain in and closed the door, then asked, “Want some water?”

            “No thanks." Fugaku walked into my living room, glancing around. “I’ll get straight to the matter." He turned to look at me closely. "Has Hikaru shown any abilities with the Sharingan?”

            _Ah ha. Wondered when this would come up._

            “Not yet,” I said, shrugging one shoulder. “He hasn’t shown any abilities with anything. We just learned today he’s allowed to go to the Academy, so maybe with some official training it’ll happen.”

            “So nothing at all?” pressed Fugaku. “No red eye color, no copying?”

            I shook my head. “No, nothing. Besides, what’s the chances he could inherit the Sharingan from me anyway? My Sharingan was implanted surgically, its not like a blood trait he could inherit from me. And if so, why your interest? He’s my son and I can train him how to use it.”

            “If he has the Sharingan,” said Fugaku, straightening his back. “Then I want Hikaru to join the Uchiha clan where he can be properly trained."

            “No, I don’t approve.” Iruka came to my side, speaking before I could finish comprehending Fugaku’s words. “Kakashi has had the Sharingan since he was what, thirteen? And the Uchiha clan certainly didn’t adopt him to properly train him. There’s no way you’re taking Hikaru away from us.”

            “Kakashi is a special case,” said Fugaku stiffly. “Like he said, his was the result of a surgical operation. If Hikaru _does_ have it and he’s inherited it through the blood, then he should be an Uchiha, last name, official member of the clan. We have several childless couples who could adopt him formally.”

            “What’s going on?” Hikaru walked in from the hallway, dressed in another set of his outfit, blue sandals, black capri pants, a gray shirt with a red X in a white circle on the front. He had his mask hanging around his neck.

            “Nothing,” started Iruka. “Go to your room okay?”

            “No, let him stay.” Fugaku looked at Hikaru. “Hikaru, have you seen any changes in your vision? Brighter, clearer, more focused, able to see far distances?”

            Hikaru’s black eyes widened and he shook his head. “Uh no sir. I read a lot, so I’m always looking at words close up.”

            “What about noticing patterns?” Fugaku watched him closely. “Have you found yourself repeating what other people do, sometimes so fast its more like you’re doing it before or at the very same time?”

            Hikaru looked confused now. “Um…no?”

            “Have your eyes changed color?” Fugaku asked next. “Have you ever seen them turn red with black markings?”

            Hikaru went to his parents, he held mine and Iruka’s hands, shaking his head. “No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            It was true, Hikaru had been with us for over a month now and I had never removed my headband in front of him. He may have seen Tsubasa’s eyes changing color at lunch earlier but then again he was immersed in his eating contest, so maybe not.

            Fugaku’s eyes narrowed for a second but then he said, “Keep a close watch on him and I’ll keep in touch. Have a good day Hatake. I’ll see myself out.”

            Fugaku left quietly.

            Iruka stared at me. “Kakashi, what are we going to do? Can he take Hikaru away from us, just like that?”

            “Whoa, what?” Hikaru pulled away and turned around so he could see the both of us. “Take me away? What was that just now, why was he asking me those weird questions? Why would my eyes change color, and seeing patterns?”

            I touched my headband. “Hikaru, look here.”

            Hikaru looked up and I pushed my headband off my eye onto my forehead, baring my scar and the red Sharingan eye.

            Hikaru gasped, staring.

            “This is the Sharingan,” I explained. “This isn’t my original left eye, the one I was born with got damaged by a kunai. I had it replaced with the eye of my comrade, Obito Uchiha. What Fugaku wanted to know was if you had inherited the Sharingan from me. And just in case you had, he wants you to join the Uchiha clan, to be taken from us and adopted by a childless couple to be raised by Uchihas and properly trained by the clan. Do you understand?”

            Hikaru breathed heavy, swallowed hard then whispered, voice shaking, “Would you let him take me away if my eye does change into that?”

            As I fixed my headband to once again cover up my eye, Iruka said, “No, we won’t. Fugaku doesn’t have any right to take you away, he was just curious if you had inherited it, that’s all.”

            Hikaru didn’t look convinced and turned back to me. “Why do you hide your eye Dad? Is it the same reason you hid your face?”

            “My Sharingan is constantly activated,” I explained. “And it drains my chakra to keep it so all the time. Keeping my eye closed and covered keeps my chakra levels up and questions about my scar down. And don’t worry about my face.”

            Hikaru bit his lower lip. “Dad, Mom, I don’t want to leave my family.” He sniffed, his nose pinking and looked up at us with watering eyes. “And I don’t want you to split up. You said you loved each other, you said you loved me. So you won’t break our family, right?”

            “The family isn’t going to break Hikaru.” Iruka hugged him close and Hikaru clasped his arms around his waist, burying his face in Iruka’s neck. He had grown so his head reached Iruka’s collarbone, if he got another growth spurt he’d easily become taller than his mother. “You’ll start going to the Academy as soon as you’re accepted, I’ll be working there, I might even be your teacher. Once you start your training, one day you’ll be a ninja just like us. We’ll always be together, okay?”

            “What if my Sharingan develops?” Hikaru leaned his face back, looking at me. “What if the Uchiha’s come for me?”

            “You’re borrowing worry and its not going to happen.” I put my hands behind my back, hiding my clenching fists. “We still don’t have any clue if its even _possible_ for you to inherit the Sharingan from me, remember, mine was surgically implanted, I’m not a blood Uchiha. If its not in my blood, in my DNA, then how could you inherit it, right? So please, don’t worry about it and don’t cry over it. Even _if_ , and that’s a very small if Hikaru, even if you did develop it, like Iruka said, Fugaku doesn’t have legal rights over you. We’re your parents and you’re staying with us. Now go wash your face, alright?”

            Iruka pecked Hikaru’s forehead and squeezed him before letting him go. Hikaru rubbed at his eyes and walked away.

            Fatigue washed over me, my eye drooped even lower than normal. I slouched on the couch then laid down, head on the arm and my legs over the other arm.

            Iruka knelt on the floor and lowered his head on my stomach. I flinched as my stomach fluctuated, nausea attacking again.

            Iruka asked in a very low voice, “Fugaku can’t take Hikaru, right?”

            I placed my hand on Iruka’s ponytail, fluffing the brown strands.

            “Right.” I closed my eye and breathed in deep and slow, not wanting to be physically sick. Iruka was worried enough about Hikaru than adding on my flu symptoms. I just needed to take some medicine or get some rest and I’d be fine. “He’s just talking prematurely. I don’t really think Hikaru is going to inherit the Sharingan, how can it work?”

            “That serum is powerful Kakashi,” said Iruka. “It created Hikaru and the serum is still in his body. Who knows what else it could do.”

            “Don’t borrow worry Iruka.” I repeated myself to him. “Let Hikaru grow happily and healthily, let’s not make him fearful of his own powers.”

            “I’m back,” said Hikaru, and Iruka stood but I didn’t move, my limbs slack.

            Hikaru knelt at the coffee table, placing down a book. “I’m just going to read for a while,” he said quietly, his eyes lowered.

            “No,” I said, standing up now and ignored the urge to keel over. “You’re going to clean that shit stain you left on my cream seats. Get the cleaning supplies from the laundry room and get started.”

            “Yes sir.” Hikaru stood and slowly left.

            “He’s still depressed,” said Iruka with a short sigh.

            “He’ll get over it.” Fatigue dragged over me again, this time I couldn’t stop how my body leaned to the side.

            Iruka gasped my shoulders, staring at me. “Kakashi? What’s wrong? Why did you nearly fall over like that?”

            I couldn’t lie, not with his large worried brown eyes looking so concerned. “I’m just super tired all of a sudden. I think its relief, Minato has finally butted out of our business and Hikaru is allowed to be a ninja. I’m going to lay down. Could you make sure Hikaru cleans my car and then take him to sign up for the Academy?”

            Iruka nodded, brow crinkled. “Yes, of course. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

            He wrapped my arm over his shoulders and his arm went around my waist. I tried not to lean all my weight on him because I knew I was heavy and Iruka wasn’t that physically strong. Iruka got me to the bedroom and I flumped down on my stomach, my eye closed and I was sleeping that quickly.

            A hand touching my shoulder woke me and I sat up, just from seeing the darkness shining out of the window told me I had slept the day away.

            Iruka said, “We’re about to have dinner, are you hungry?”

            My stomach curdled at the idea of food and I shook my head.

            Iruka frowned. “Kakashi, you haven’t eaten since breakfast and that was eleven or twelve hours ago. You need to eat a little. Come on.”

            He tugged on my arm and I got up. He was right, ninjas shouldn’t starve themselves. Its one thing if on a mission and it gets to the point that there’s no time or way to eat but I was home, I should try. Besides, if I plug my nose because of the bad smell I could still eat.

            Iruka held my hand and let me out to the kitchen where the table was set for the three. The smell of the food nearly had me keel over, so I again plugged my nose with chakra. It stopped the scent but I was still tired and my stomach still rolled and tossed.

            Hikaru brightened up to see me. “Dad, Dad! Its real, I’ve signed up for the Academy! The entrance exam is tomorrow and if I pass, I can start school just the next day!”

            “That’s great son.” I smiled, my visible eye curved. “You feel ready for the exam?”

            “We’ll do some studying tonight and the morning beforehand,” answered Iruka, tossing me a wink.

            Iruka sat me down at the table. I didn’t know why he was mothering over me like this but because I was tired and my stomach sick, I just let him.

            “Excited Hikaru?” I asked while Iruka made the plates.

            Just eyeing the food made my stomach twist and even though I couldn’t smell it, my stomach was making it rather clear that me and food weren’t on nice terms today.

            I stood up before Hikaru could answer, wife and son looked at me curiously.

            “I’m done,” I said even though I hadn’t eaten. “I’m taking a shower and going to bed. Goodnight you two.”

             I pecked Iruka on his mouth then pecked Hikaru’s forehead then hightailed it out of the kitchen.

            “Kakashi!” I heard Iruka call me but I didn’t come back.

            Hikaru offered, “His stomach must hurt like mine did.”

            “Maybe so.”

            I took a long lukewarm shower then soaked in a bath, hoping the water would cool my stomach. Instead I fell asleep and nearly drowned when my mouth and nose sunk underwater. I got out, dried off and went into the bedroom. I put on my sleep mask and underwear. Iruka wasn’t there, I could hear him putting Hikaru to bed. I got in bed but sat up against the pillows and waited for Iruka, reading Icha-Icha Violence, the second book in the series.

            He came in and took his shower then sat down next to me, turning so he could face me. I put the book down, waiting for it.

            “Are you feeling okay?” Iruka tilted his head to the side, golden brown eyes examining my face. “You seemed fine earlier but from lunch onwards you seemed a little off.”

            I raised my brows. “What do you mean from lunch?”

            Iruka’s right bow cocked. “Because you had stuffed so much chakra in your nose I knew you couldn’t smell a thing. The smell of the food was making you sick, right?”

            _Dang…Iruka may only just became a Jounin and he’ll never be an Anbu like me but that doesn’t mean he’s stupid. I didn’t know he was that observant but then again, he’s been an Academy teacher for several years, he’ll need to be have a sharp eye in order to make sure his students are learning and understanding their lessons._

            I nodded, realizing I can’t hide it. “Yes, I was nauseous. That’s why I didn’t eat dinner.”

            Iruka paused then said, “Do you think you’re too tired to help me tonight?”

            I sat up straighter, a quick zing of passion ran through me. Since the day Iruka and I confessed love for each other, every night I tried to coax him into bed with me. We could make out pretty heavily but once I tried to go south, Iruka stopped me. He had told me he was scarred by the wedding night and too humiliated to do it again but he wanted to try. It had to have been like over two weeks now with no progress.

            Iruka looked saddened at my lack of response. “I’m sorry Kakashi, I’m sorry the way I am but the wedding night…that was the taking of my virginity, my first experience. Now I’m kinda scared by intimacy.”

            “But why?” I had to ask, even though we had this conversation before. “I didn’t hurt you, I didn’t make you bleed and I wasn’t rough. I know I came on you and you hated that but I’ve promised I won’t do it again. I don’t see the problem, especially since the wedding night was nearly a month ago.”

            “I know,” he said with a sigh. “But the problem was the lack of love, how it was forced. Kakashi…the wedding night was rape, understand?”

            My heart clutched but I knew he was right, he didn’t want to have sex with me but I had it with him anyway. It was decreed by the Fourth Hokage and I did what I was told regardless of Iruka’s feelings. All the wives and the husbands had been technically raped by the wedding night, except for a few who ended up enjoying it.

            I looked at him, concerned and apologetic. “I know Iruka and I’ve been doing my best to make up for it. However it’ll never be rape again and it’ll never be without love again.” I gently cupped his chin, looking deep into his eyes. “If you’d really give me a chance Iruka, I can show you just how loving, gentle and slow I can be. I’ll never hurt you, understand?”

            Iruka nodded, eyes watery and hugged me. I hugged him back, glad we were over it but fatigue washed over me, hard enough that I leaned over heavily. Iruka squealed as I crushed him.

            Laughing a little, he said, “Kakashi! Lay down!”

            I scooted and he got under the covers with me and we both shared the pillow.

            “Another night then,” Iruka chuckled as my eyes were closing. “You’re way too tired, you nearly squished me flat.”

            “Sorry.” I put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to me. “See you in the morning Iruka.”

            “Un huh,” he nestled his head underneath my chin, his lips moved against my neck. “I love you Kakashi.”

            “I love you too.”

            My voice faded away and this time I went to sleep.


	9. Toil and Trouble 2 Pt 1: Gaara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 1 of Gaara's Toil and Trouble.

_Gaara_

             Screaming and then a hard weight slamming onto my chest woke me up. I was in real sleep, Shukaku let me sleep when I was at home because he didn’t want to hurt our family. My eyes flashed open at the sudden pain and the screaming, it was Miki who had jumped on top of me, he grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

            “WAKE UP!” His bellow made my ears ring, my head ached. “We gotta go to the Academy, the entrance exam REMEMBER??”

            Naruto wasn’t getting the same treatment.

            Mika gently shook his shoulder, saying in a soft calm voice, “Momma, wake up. It’s the entrance exam today, please wake up.”

            I sat up, Miki slid off my chest to thump in my lap, I winced then grasped him under his arms, lifted him and dumped him over the side of the bed.

            I looked at him. “You ever wake me up like that again and I’ll-”

            “Don’t threaten your child dear,” said Naruto, cutting me off as Miki’s eyes widened. “Thank you Mika for waking me up so politely. I see you two are both showered and dressed, so go eat breakfast while parents get ready, okay?”

            “OKAY!” Miki shouted, I leaned away from him and they both ran out of the room.

            I glowered at Naruto. “Miki may look like me but I think he has more _your_ DNA in him than me.”

            Naruto laughed loudly. “He acts like _you_ Gaara more than he acts like me! He does get excited like me though and has my competitive nature, that is true.”

            “He smiles like you,” I had to point out as we both got out of the bed and moved to the bathroom.

            Naruto laughed again. “Yeah but he makes your expressions most of the time. I think Miki is a nice merging of both of us.”

            He ran the shower and we got in together, we bathed at first but then I got a kinky idea.

            I touched Naruto’s pecs and massaged them then ordered, “I want to see your tits. Bring out Naruko.”

            Naruto stared at me, shocked then growled playfully and shoved me against the shower wall, eyes turning red. “And what if I don’t want to? What if I want _you_ to have tits?”

            I grasped him tightly by his hair, my own eyes turning from white to black, with my irises going from green to yellow then a black four-pointed star for pupils with four black dots around it. “Maybe you just do what I say Naruto, before you make me mad.”

            “Ouch!” Naruto winced and clasped my wrist, his fox eyes turning back to blue. “Too tight Gaara!”

            I let him go and he rubbed his scalp quickly but smiled at me. “You forgot your own strength or something? Felt like you were going to pull my hair out.”

            “I apologize,” I said then there was banging on the bathroom door.

            “DAD! MOM! HURRY UP!” It was Miki again.

            I stepped out of the shower and roared through the door. “GO AWAY AND STOP BEING A BOTHER MIKI!”

            He gasped then footsteps ran off.

            “Gaara!” Naruto said my name sharply from behind me. I groaned and turned around. He was out of the shower, arms crossed tightly. “What’s gotten into you? I know Miki is excited but I’ve never seen you shout like that, and certainly not at our son.”

            “I apologize,” I said again, drying off.

            Naruto’s brows clenched but he dried off too and we went into the bedroom to get dressed. Naruto went to the kitchen where Mika was cleaning up, apparently the brats had ramen for breakfast.

            _Little freaks. Who the heck eats ramen first thing? Naruto does, that’s who. And they’ve taken after him._

            Naruto looked at me while he was starting our breakfast, face stern and his voice just as hard. “I think there’s something someone has to someone to else Gaara.”

            I frowned at him. “Why can’t you speak clearly, really? What’s with the riddles?” My eyes burned then suddenly watered, I spoke, my voice thickened. “Why are you so mean Naruto? What did I do to deserve this?”

            Naruto gasped, dropped the pan he was holding and rushed to hug me. “Don’t cry Gaara! I didn’t mean to be rude but really, just calm down.”

            I hugged him back then stood away, rubbing my eyes dry. I sniffed and adjusted my straps, I hadn’t clicked my gourd on yet, it sat at the door.

            “I’m fine, really.” My voice was normal again. “There’s no time to cook a full meal Naruto, let’s just go. Miki,” I turned to the boy slumped over on the couch. “Come here boy.”

            Miki got up and walked over to me, head down. I hugged him, his head burrowed into my lower chest. Naruto and I weren’t that tall and Miki was the shortest boy out of the children. “I apologize that I yelled at you, okay? Dad’s emotions have been a little…wonky today, so I wasn’t really mad, I just overreacted. Still, try not to get _too_ excited, okay? Remember who we are, alright? Be respectful at all times.”

            Miki nodded and stepped back, rubbing at his face. “Alright, I’m sorry too. Let’s go, okay?” He brightened up and his fists clenched, eyes burning. “I’m going to completely show off _all_ of my skills! I’ll be the Number One Totally Awesome Sand-Powered Ninja!”

            I stared at him.

            Naruto whispered, “I used to be that…well.” He started smiling and said to Miki, “That’s almost what I called myself when I was a Genin. I said I was the Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja. Mika, do you have a title for yourself?”

            She nodded eagerly, her ponytails jiggled at the sides of her head. “Yeah, yeah! I’m going to be the Number One Unpredictable Sexy-Cute Boy-Girl Ninja!”

            Naruto laughed.

            I didn’t like it. “You’ll have to take the Sexy-Cute out of that Mika. No ma’am, I don’t approve.”

            Mika’s face fell. “But Daddy!”

            “NO!” I shouted. “You are a polite and gentle-mannered Suna female! No sexiness, no cuteness! You shouldn’t even be going to the Konoha Academy but to a proper all-girls school in Suna! I won’t repeat myself, no Sexy-Cute in your title! I forbid it!”

            Naruto stared at me then said quietly, “Kids, go on outside and wait for us.”

            Mika threw me a tearful upset look and ran out with Miki close behind her. Naruto stood in front of me, hands on his hips and looked in my eyes. I averted them.

            “Gaara, look at me.” His voice was so serious, I looked back then bowed my head at the upset look on his face. He lectured me sternly, “I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what kind of mood you’re in but I won’t let you take out your little petty anger on the kids. You’ve yelled at Miki now you’re yelling at Mika. I’ll take them to the Academy, you can stay here and think about what you’ve done.”

            “No, I want to come.” I looked back up, biting my lower lip at the intense look on Naruto’s face. “I apologize to you and I’ll apologize to Mika too. You’re right, I’m having some sort of mood and I don’t know what it is either. I’ll try and be better, okay?” My eyes pricked sharply and they watered again. “You promise not to be angry anymore?”

            Naruto’s face crumpled and he hugged me again. “Please stop crying Gaara. You make me feel like an evil witch when you cry. Come on, knock it off.”

            He patted my back and I stopped, drying my face again. He took my hand and led me out. I made sure to get my gourd and clip it on my back first, I don’t leave the house without it.

            Mika was sitting on the stoop, crying into her hands while Miki tried unsuccessfully to get her to stop. “He yelled at me too Mika, remember? Its not a big deal and he’ll say sorry, alright? Come on, stop, we’ve got to go to the Academy. Please stop crying, you aren’t sexy _or_ cute like this.”

            I brushed Miki to the side and picked up Mika to my chest, she hugged me around the neck and her legs around my waist. I gently rocked her from side to side and said, “I’m apologizing to you Mika, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Its true I don’t like the Sexy-Cute part of your title but you’re young and you’ll grow out of it later, Naruto didn’t keep his title for much longer as a Genin anyway. So please stop crying, I won’t yell at you unfairly again, okay?”

            “It’s not that,” she whimpered. “Its…you told me I’m a Suna female…and I should go to a Suna girl’s school. But I don’t _want_ to go to Suna and I don’t _want_ to be a Suna female. I’m a Konoha female, I want to go the Konoha Academy!”

            I let her down, she wobbled but stayed on her feet. I said, “We’ll be here for at least three more years so yes, you’ll go the Konoha Academy, we’re taking you to the entrance exam right now. So stop the tears and let’s go.”

            I walked away then waited at the sidewalk for everyone to catch up. Naruto held Mika’s hand, hushing her as she hadn’t stopped sniffling. We walked to the school in relative silence, even Miki wasn’t blabbering. When we got to the Academy, it was bustling with activity, noise and laughter.

            I saw the other families, Kana Subaku with his parents Kankuro and Kiba, Sora Sarutobi with her parents Asuma and Shikamaru, Hikaru Hatake with his parents Kakashi and Iruka, then Tsubasa Hyuiha with her parents Sasuke and Neji.

            Kana was jumping up and down, so excited he had completely lost control of himself, even with Kankuro barking at him to calm down, he kept running around in circles and howling, acting like some sort of hyperactive dog. Kiba looked exasperated but his attempts at getting Kana to cool off didn’t work either.

            Sora was talking to Shikamaru and Asuma about what she believed the exam would cover and how she was positive she was ready for it, that there was _no way_ she was going to fail. Her parents were just giving her calm amused smiles and nodding.

            Hikaru was reading off flash cards and he had his mask over his lower face, trembling going down his back and his hands, causing him to drop his cards repeatedly and he had to pick them up only to drop them again. Iruka was assuring him that he needed to relax because the exam wasn’t nearly as difficult as he was imagining it. Kakashi’s head was dipped to the side and down, after a longer look, I realized the man was sleep standing up.

            Tsubasa was throwing a temper tantrum. From her loud demands, she wanted Sasuke to carry her but he told her no because she was the size of a twelve year old and too big to be carried, she had to stand up on her own. When Sasuke refused, she turned to Neji but when Neji was going to, Sasuke told him no and the parents began to argue. While they argued, Tsubasa went silent and sullen, head down and shoulders slumped.

            Miki and Mika ran forward to socialize and soon all the children had grouped in a circle to talk, except Tsubasa who was watching her parents still going at it. After a minute, Sora and Mika took Tsubasa’s hands and walked away together, leaving the three boys to talk.

            Naruto took my hand, saying, “Hopefully the girls can help Tsubasa out. We should probably talk to the Uchihas, they seriously need help.”

            I shrugged. “I don’t really care. Let them crash and burn, its not our problem.”

            Naruto paused then slowly looked at me. “Gaara, you aren’t being yourself, I understand that, so maybe you should keep your comments to yourself.”

            I frowned hard. “So you’re saying I don’t deserve to talk? That I’m somehow lesser than you are?”

            Naruto’s eyes widened as my eyes began burning. “Please Gaara, don’t cry like this. Do you want everyone to see you?”

            The tears slid down. “So you’re ashamed of me, is that what this? Want to hide me away like some embarrassing problem?”

            Naruto rubbed at my face and the tears dried.

            “You’ll be okay one day,” he said, looking worried.

            There was a loud clanging and a voice using a microphone said, “Alright, can I have your attention please? Everyone, I need your attention please.”

            The crowd slowly stopped talking and I noticed that besides our families and the other Academy hopefuls, I saw Fugaku Uchiha and his wife Mikoto, Hiashi Hyuga, Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage and his grandson Konohamaru, Kushina Uzumaki, Shikaku Nara and his wife Yoshino, Hana and Katuza Inuzuka were also present. Kushina gestured to us and Naruto brought me over to stand with her.

           The voice calling for attention belonged to a woman, who was now instructing the Academy hopefuls to come stand in front of her, with the family and friends at the back. She had long curly black hair and oval glasses with red lipstick.

            I didn’t know who she was but Naruto whispered, “That’s Suzume, she’s an Academy teacher. She taught Sakura and Ino in their kunoichi class.”

            “Now, before we get started, we need to lay down some rules.” said Suzume, “First, family and friends, please no whistling or cheering or gesturing to the Academy hopefuls until the exam is over. Let them make their own minds and perform without any pressure. Second, Academy hopefuls, breathe and relax, let’s get started. Daikoku, take it away.”

            Daikoku was a tall and heavyset man, with brown hair and a brown goatee. He accepted the microphone from Suzume and said, “The Academy hopefuls, please enter the building by the double doors on your right. The proctors are inside, where you’ll take the written exam first. It’s only twenty questions, so its timed for ten minutes. After that, you’ll be directed to the training field for a physical exam that’ll measure your strength, flexibility, overall health and chakra levels. This exam is open to the public, so your friends and family will be able to see you. Then you’ll come back here to the courtyard for the final three questions of the exam that is also public. It’ll take a day for the exam results to be evaluated, so in two days come back here to be given your results on May 7th. If you have passed, you’ll start classes on Friday, May 8th. Alright, Academy hopefuls, head into the building.”

            There were a round of hugs, kisses and good lucks, Miki actually let Naruto hug _and_ kiss him in public, then we both waved the twins off to take the exam.

            “They’ll be fine,” said Naruto with an easy shrug. “If I could pass on my first try, they can pass.”

            I had to agree with that and my cell phone dinged with a text. Naruto was hailed by the other wives and he walked away. I opened the text and saw with shock it was from Rasa, my father the Fourth Kazekage. It read simply:

            **Father: Meet me.**

            I blinked then responded.

            **Me: When and where?**

            **Father: My hotel room.**

            I sighed heavily. Rasa knew how to text but he texted like he was talking, entirely too closemouthed, leading me to have to ask more questions to get to the point.

            I texted again.

            **Me: Which hotel and what time?**

            **Father: Great Fire Leaf Hotel. Now. Tell no one.**

            I was a little unnerved but I went to Naruto who was talking to Neji.

            “Sorry to interrupt,” I said, looking at Naruto. “But I have to go. I’ll see you a little later, okay?”

            Naruto’s eyes widened. “But what about the exam? You’re going to miss it!”

            “You’re here for them, it’s fine. They’ll understand. I’ll see you later.” I pecked his cheek then walked away.

            “Bye then,” he said softly.

            I heard Neji say, “Well, where is he going in such a rush? He didn’t even tell you what that was about.”

            “He’s in an odd mood today,” responded Naruto.

            I didn’t want to hear him telling them about my random shouting and sudden crying, so I picked up the pace. I knew where Great Fire Leaf Hotel was, it wasn’t too far away from the visitors quarters where I had been living with Kankuro and Temari before I got married to Naruto. So the fact that Rasa was in a hotel instead of there meant he was here not on official Kazekage business but as a regular person. Also seeing as he told me not to tell anyone he was here, it probably meant he hadn’t told the Fourth Hokage that he was in town.

_He’s planning something alright. I did figure he’d be back once he had time to calm down but the secrecy…he’s got something up his sleeve._

            I got to the hotel and Rasa had texted me his room number, so I went straight up. I knocked on the door and Rasa let me in. He wasn’t even wearing his Kazekage robes or formal attire, instead he wore black pants and a black jacket with mesh armor underneath it and sandals.

            “Father,” I said in greeting.

            “Child.” He responded then strode away to sit at the armchair, there was a side table then an armchair next to it. I closed the door and sat down across from him, I put my gourd on the ground next to the chair first, I can’t sit with it on my back.

            I asked, “Is Kankuro joining us?”

            He shook his head. “No, I’ll talk to him separately. Now, its you I want to talk to.” He faced me with his dark eyes focusing intensely on me. “First, what I want to talk to you about is a sensitive matter that does not leave this room, understand? So don’t talk to your spouse about it. I haven’t even talked to the Fourth Hokage yet. Is that clear?”

            I nodded. “Understood and its clear.”

            “Good.” Rasa clenched his hands together, fingers interlocking. “I’ll get straight to the matter. I’m aware that Miki has powers with sand, possibly even greater than you. I want him in Suna for experimentation and I want him to be a Suna ninja, not Konoha. Mika as well.”

            I blinked. Then I said, “I see…but that can’t be done.”

            Rasa’s eyes narrowed into cold slits. “And why is that? Why are you disobeying my direct order?”

            I said calmly, “Because Miki and Mika are taking the entrance exam for Konoha Academy as we speak. Also Naruto and I have already decided that the children would be living in Konoha for at least the next three years. Miki and Mika have also stated their wishes to be Leaf ninja, not Sand. I think you’ve done your share of experimenting on me, I can’t let you touch Miki or Mika.”

            Rasa stood up abruptly and his hand moved like he was going to slap me. I flinched back and my eyes pricked, the tears came back. Rasa stared at me, his hand lowered and he slowly sat down. I sniffed and dried my eyes then coughed.

            I said, “I apologize about that.”

            Rasa crossed his arms. “Married to that fox boy has done something to you, yes?”

            I made a short smile. “Yes…he taught me love. I’ve loved him for a long time, I just didn’t realize it.”

            Rasa cringed, just by how his eyes winced and his mouth and nose wrinkled then he said, “Let’s not talk about Naruto. Let’s talk about the progeny. I’m more interested in Miki than Mika. I know about his sand prowess, but what else?”

            I thought about it. “He appears to be naturally very strong. He was able to rip open a door I had sealed closed with my sand…with one hand.”

            Rasa’s eyes widened and pulled out a notebook, taking notes. “I see. What else?”

            I didn’t really care for this but Rasa _was_ Miki’s grandfather, he deserved to know. “Accelerated healing. I popped his lip once and he healed the little bump in seconds. Naruto and I don’t heal that fast, even from a small injury.”

            Rasa wrote it down then asked, “Has he shown any signs that he has some sort of beast inside of him?”

            I shook my head. “No and I think if he did, Shukaku and Kurama would have told us. Besides, they are both male. How can Miki _or_ Mika have a beast in them when-”

            Rasa cut me off. “You and Naruto are both male Gaara. If the Male Pregnancy Serum can make you two have a child, then there’s no reason it can’t make the tailed beasts have one too.”

            I shook my head again. “No, no way. I admit I don’t know what’s in the Male Pregnancy Serum but the children were made with that, DNA and semen. How can it possibly extend into the sealing and make children between two tailed beasts? It doesn’t make any sense.”

            Rasa’s eyes narrowed. “Well, if you’d let me experiment on Miki and Mika then I could explain it.”

            “No.” I shook my head for a third time. “I haven’t even told them about our tailed beasts, I can’t just do that. You’ll have to wait until they’re older at least.”

            Rasa grumbled but he nodded, so at least he would get off my back about that much.

            “Fine,” he said. “However I demand you reveal this to the twins and then I want you to keep a close eye on them. If Miki can control sand, see if Mika can do it to. If Miki has accelerated healing and advanced strength, let’s see if Mika is the same. I want to know more.”

            I paused then said, “Why not introduce yourself to them? They’ve never even seen you before.”

            Rasa shook his head. “No, not here. Bring them to Suna, let them see their homeland and see me on proper soil.”

            I knew he wouldn’t appreciate my comment but I said it anyway. “Father, Konohagakure is their homeland. This is where they were born and its all they know. They didn’t even know what a Sunanite is until they overheard Kankuro talking about it. In fact they both get very upset when we mention Suna and leaving Konoha. It’ll take more time.”

            Rasa clenched his fists. “I’m sick of hearing you talking about time! If these children aged from newborn to twelve years in the time span of less than a month then giving them more time means they’re just getting older and older until they die!”

            “No that is wrong,” I said. “They’ve stagnated at this age of twelve and we don’t think they’ll age again until much later. Tsunade even says-”

            “What does Tsunade know?” Rasa cut me off. “She is a part of this whole thing, she probably worked hand in hand with Orochimaru! No, I want _my_ scientists and _my_ medical-nins to experiment on them.”

            I stood up, furious and I shouted. “STOP TALKING ABOUT EXPERIMENTATION! THEY’RE HUMAN BEINGS, NOT SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS! MIKI AND MIKA ARE MY CHILDREN AND I WON’T LET YOU TAKE THEM FROM ME!”

            Rasa lashed out and would have punched me but my sand protected me. I sat down and covered my face as the tears rushed, now I was fully sobbing. “And now you’re trying to hurt me! You’d really do that, you’d hit your youngest son, your baby boy? What type of man are you?”

            Rasa was silent and eventually I stopped crying, drying my face on my sleeves. I adjusted my shirt and said, “I apologize about that.”

            Rasa closed his eyes tight, breathed in and slowly breathed out before looking at me again. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you but I don’t like it. That was worse than your outburst when I finally told you that your mother loved you. I didn’t even do anything to you.”

            “I know,” I coughed. “Its over with. Is there anything else?”

            “You can go now,” he said shortly, clearly annoyed and fed up. “Don’t tell anyone I’m here, understand?”

            “Understood.” I stood up and put back my sand gourd back onto my back. I looked at him. “Still, you might want to consider visiting the children while you are here. I don’t know when we’ll be able to come to Suna, especially since they’ll be starting the Konoha Academy this week. Just an idea.”

            Rasa nodded but didn’t get up to see me out. So I said goodbye and left the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Continued: The Academy Entrance Exam


	10. The Academy Entrance Exam

_Gaara_

             I headed back to the Academy and could hear lots of talking. I figured the physical portion of the exam was going on, so hopefully I hadn’t missed too much. There were signs up so I followed the instructions to the training field at the back of the building. The training field was large and surrounded by fencing. Outside of the fencing were bleachers stacked up ten rows at all sides of the field.

            I spotted Naruto’s blond hair and pushed through the crowd then up several rows to get to his side. He perked up to see me and said over the noise, “Miki and Mika are in line, so you’re just in time. It hasn’t started yet, everyone has to be looked over by the doctors first.”

            I looked over the field while I took my gourd off and sat down, the gourd at my side. There were five lines with ten Academy hopefuls in each line, so the exam would test five students at once. There were five obstacle courses, then a row of targets for kunai practice and dummies for practicing taijutsu, along with five exam proctors. There were also five doctors, they were in the lines giving the children quick health examinations and checking chakra levels. Each line had a sign with letters on it. The first line said A-E. The second line’s sign said F-J. Third said K-O. The fourth said P-T. And the fifth line said U-Z.

            Miki and Mika were in the fourth line, along with Sora and Kana. Miki was in front of Mika. There were three Academy hopefuls in front of them. Kana was in front of Miki while Sora was near end of the line, there were three other hopefuls also in that line.

            Tsubasa and Hikaru were in the second line, with Hikaru in front of Tsubasa. There were about five hopefuls in front of Hikaru, he was eagerly talking to the boy right in front of him, then there was Tsubasa behind him and three others behind her.

            Looking over the second-generation, I took note of what the others were wearing.

            Kana wore blue sandals, black pants, black fishnet shirt with the gray jacket over it with a furred collar, the same outfit Kiba wore as a Genin. He also had several bandages on his face and scratches on his hands. He had a necklace on, a black thread with a black bear claw hanging from it. Kana was the tallest out of the Male Pregnancy Serum children, with Miki and Mika behind him, he looked like he was an older teenager while they were just children, even though all of them were the exact same age.

            Sora had on red sandals, a short white skirt paired with red capri pants underneath, a red shirt with the black Nara clan symbol on the back. She even had her hair in the high ponytail in the customary Nara clan style. Sora was the tallest girl out of the six children, she made Mika look like a toy doll compared to her.

            Hikaru dressed similar to his father, at least he had the same skin-tight mask to cover his lower face, though right now it was pulled down to hang around his collar. He also wore blue sandals, black capri pants, a gray shirt with a red X in a white circle on the front. Hikaru was only a head or so shorter than Kana and was the second tallest, Miki came to his shoulder standing next to him.

            Tsubasa stuck out because her outfit was completely white. She wore white sandals paired with a white knee-length skirt, white shirt with ruffled sleeves and a ruffled collar. Her black hair was long past her shoulders like Neji’s, but she wore two wing-shaped pins at her temples to keep the hair back from her face. Tsubasa was the shortest girl, Mika was taller than her by at least three inches.

            I saw hopefuls being dismissed from the exam, walking away from the field with watered eyes and slumped shoulders. I glanced at Naruto.

            Seeing my look, Naruto explained, “If the doctor diagnoses that they are unhealthy or don’t have enough chakra to perform as a ninja, then they can’t continue. I’m positive our twins will be fine.”

            “Mika can only do one Shadow Clone,” I pointed out.

            Naruto’s brows raised. “Yes and that’s without formal training, that’s very impressive. She’ll make it, they both will. See?”

            I looked back to the field, Miki just got a thumbs up from the doctor who then waved a green flag at the proctor, so he was cleared. I watched Mika be examined and she was also allowed to continue.

            After all the hopefuls had been examined, out of the original fifty that had been in line, only thirty-five remained. The others had been dismissed for poor health and/or low chakra levels. All of the Male Pregnancy Serum children had passed.

            Kana was up first, he was in front of Miki. Then it would be Mika, two hopefuls I didn’t know, then Sora then someone else I didn’t know. In the second line, there were three boys in front of Hikaru then Tsubasa with two other hopefuls behind her. With it like this, I would be able to see everyone go without having to try and see more children at the same time. The order was Kana, Miki, Mika, Hikaru, Tsubasa and Sora was last.

            A sharp loud whistle blew and the physical exam had begun.

            I looked over the obstacle course as Kana eagerly ran forward. First were monkey bars, they were rather high up for a children’s exam, easily eight feet high. In my experience, monkey bars were more like six or five feet tall, so this was a little unfair, especially since most of these children weren’t much higher than five feet tall, which means they’d have to jump three feet at the least to reach the bars.

            Kana however was pretty tall and with one jump, both hands grasped the bars and he swung the ten rungs all the way across then hopped down. I heard Kiba whoop for him and loud cheering from the present Inuzuka’s. There was also a lot of cheering from people I didn’t know, because besides Kana, there were four other hopefuls being tested at the same time with their own proctors.

            Next was a mud pit with a rope strung up over it from a pole, needing the hopeful to run, jump, grab the rope then swing across. Failing to grab the rope in mid-air would end with the hopeful landing straight in a two-feet deep ditch full of mud.

            Kana took a few steps back, then ran, his body flew, he clasped onto the rope, he thrust upwards with his legs, soared across the mud pit and landed safely on the other side. He was cheered but Kana didn’t pause to acknowledge. Now he was facing a balance beam that crossed a stretch of mud, also a dug out trench but was deeper, more like four feet deep and it was ten feet across to the other side. The balance beam wasn’t straight but crooked and bent at sharp angles. Kana hopped on and sped over it like it was nothing, not losing his balance or anything.

            “He’s got those Inuzuka genes,” said Naruto with a nod. “A physical activity like this comes naturally, he has fast reflexes and animalistic body-type. He’ll definitely ace this, he’s moving like he’s done this a million times.” 

            Kana stepped off the balance beam and was now faced with a long belly-crawl underneath barbed wire, though a closer look revealed it wasn’t actually barbed wire but rope that had been knotted to resemble it. Kana got on his stomach then crawled, pushing off his hands, knees, elbows and feet, he wriggled through like a centipede and he wasn’t getting snagged by the ropes at all.

            I heard Kiba laugh loudly with pride. “That’s my son! All of that roughhousing paid off Kankuro, heh?”

            Kankuro said, also sounding pleased, “Seems like it.”

            The older Subaku’s and the Inuzuka’s were sitting on Naruto’s side but just a row below, so I could hear and see them if I just slightly turned my head.

            Kana wiggled out the belly-crawl, stood up then scaled a seven-foot wall made out of rope, strung up with a wooden plank. It took him literally seconds, he dropped off the other side easily. Then there were ten leg vaults, requiring high and quick leg-hops over the beams that were spaced closely together. Kana, with his long legs and speed, dashed over them, his body nimbly leaping over each beam. Then that was the end of the obstacle course. The proctor had been walking alongside the obstacle course and taking notes, even from this distance I could see his raised eyebrows. Kana had definitely just gotten a high score.

            Kana’s family, which was just his parents Kiba and Kankuro, his aunt Hana and his grandfather Katuza, all stood up and howled for him, cheering. Kankuro didn’t howl but he was clapping very loudly. Naruto stood up and clapped too, and I clapped as well, for Kana was my nephew by blood.

            Kana faced the crowd and pumped his fists, but then the proctor got his attention and he faced a target practice for kunai or shuriken. The proctor handed him a kunai. Kana had to try his best to hit the bull’s-eye. There was a yellow strip on the ground where he had to stand, not allowed to get any closer to the target.

            “Uh oh,” whined Kiba. “Kana’s got no coordination, he’s so clumsy!”

            “Then how did he totally ace the obstacle course?” Kankuro countered. “He’ll be fine.”

            Kana hefted the kunai in his hands, wound his arm back and threw it true. The kunai clipped the edge of the round board and clattered to the ground several feet away.

            We all winced with an “OOOH,” sound of disappointment.

            The proctor handed him another kunai, his hand held up two fingers. So he only got three tries.

            Kana’s face was a little red but he grasped the kunai tightly and shifted his position, though he had to stay on the yellow marker. He heaved his arm back and flung the kunai. This time it sunk into the board on the farthest outward circle, the white. The target board was painted with five rings, white, black, blue, red and the center was yellow, the bull’s-eye and the smallest ring.

            Kiba shouted, “GET IT KANA, GET IT!”

            The proctor handed Kana a third and final kunai. Kana took it and shivered all over, he closed his eyes for a moment. Then he faced the target, swung back his arm and threw the sharp weapon. The kunai sunk into the black ring, just the next from the white. His shoulders slumped but we all cheered and clapped for him.

            Naruto said, “Most hopefuls don’t even hit the board, especially if they haven’t practiced before. I know for a fact Kiba and Kankuro don’t trust Kana with sharp objects, so he did amazing for his first attempt.”

            The proctor wrote down on his clipboard then gestured Kana to a dummy who walked forward. There was a painted circle, similar to a wrestling ring, about seven feet in all directions. The dummy was a real person, however he was in full protective gear, his arms and legs padded with thick cushion and cloth, his chest also padded with a metal plate over it, and he had on a helmet, the face protected by a row of bars and the sides and back of his head padded.

            The proctor was talking to Kana, I couldn’t hear from this distance, especially with the noise of the crowd, but by reading his lips, I knew he was telling Kana to show him three different punches, three different kicks then a powerful move.

            As Kana nodded, Kiba said, “He’ll ace this. All he does is roughhouse, this should be right up his alley.”

            “Kiba, he just wrestles Akamaru,” said Kankuro. “I haven’t seen him punch or kick Akamaru.”

            Kana got into a position, his upper body bent forward, arms hooked and head lowered. Then he charged the dummy, jumped, and his body was sideways with his legs up, kicked the man’s chest with both feet. The dummy reeled backwards, stumbling but then stood up straight and walked forward, not injured.

            “WHOA!” Both Kiba and Kankuro shouted in surprise.

            “That,” said Katuza, his voice stunned. “Was a total wrestling move. He dropkicked him!”

            The proctor wrote on his clipboard then gestured for Kana to attack again. Kana stood up off the ground then faced the dummy man. He lifted his arms up out of his sides and balanced on one leg with his other knee raised.

            Kankuro pointed out, “That’s the crane position.”

            Then with one thrust of his raised leg, Kana kicked the man hard, again in the chest. The dummy came off his feet this time and crashed onto his back, but again his heavy cushioning and metal padding protected him. He laid stunned for a second but then slowly got to his feet.

            The proctor nodded to Kana to attack again, his hand writing.

            Kiba laughed, “Clearly watching those wrestling shows have taught Kana moves by osmosis.”

            “Or maybe he _has_ been practicing on Akamaru,” said Kankuro. “Those two are always playing in the backyard.”

            Akamaru, laying at Kiba’s feet, lifted his head to bark several times. “Arf! Arf! Arf!”

            Kana faced the dummy again as the man took his position.

            Naruto said, “I think they should have used fake dummies. This guy is getting pulverized.”  
            “He’s trained I’m sure,” I said. “And besides, he’s covered up. He’ll be fine.”

            Kana raised up his fists, clearly deciding go for some punching, even though he had another kick left. He darted at the dummy and punched him in the face. The dummy’s head rocked back and he stepped back one step then came forward while Kana was shaking the pain off his hand, the bars protecting the man’s face hadn’t dented or broken.

            Hana shouted, “SHAKE IT OFF KANA! DON’T STOP NOW!”

            Kana tossed over a grin and for a second, even with Kiba’s face, he looked just like my brother, those cool arrogant smiles Kankuro could make, usually when he came home from battle without a scratch.

            _Even if I wanted to pretend that the children are just science experiments, which I don’t, he totally has Kankuro’s blood._

            The protector called for Kana’s attention and Kana faced the dummy again. I distinctively remembered Suzume saying at the beginning before the exam started was, “family and friends, please no whistling or cheering or gesturing to the Academy hopefuls until the exam is over. Let them make their own minds and perform without any pressure.” However no one was listening, the other four hopefuls were also getting cheers and shouts from their families.

            I did notice that Kana was the only one already at the taijutsu practice. One kid was paddling in the mud lake after falling off the balance beam, he was so wet and slippery he couldn’t get a good enough grasp to get back on. A second kid was caught up in the belly-crawler, the ropes twisting around him. The third was stuck in the vaults and the fourth child was still struggling to climb up the rope wall. Kana clearly excelled at physical strength and flexibility.

            Kana attacked the dummy. He grasped the dummy’s arm up over his left head and folded it behind the man’s neck then his free hand delivered a strong punch into the side of the ribcage. The man just shook it off and struggled in Kana’s hold, who let him go. The dummy’s sides were very well padded and strapped with metal buckles to keep the armor from coming off, so Kana’s punch didn’t hurt him.

            “Heart punch,” said Kankuro. “If he was in battle, a hit like that would knock an opponent unconscious, hitting a nerve that’ll stop his or her heart for a moment. When I’m home I do watch wrestling with Kana but I didn’t know he was committing the moves to memory.”

            “He has one kick left and one punch left, then the power move,” said Naruto. He shook his head. “I don’t know how Mika is going to do on this portion. She’s not violent at all.”

            “She wants to be a ninja so she’ll do what she has to,” I responded, watching Kana back up a few paces, ready to attack again.

            Kana again punched the dummy in the face, only this time he swung around and used the back of his fist. The man leaned over to the side, coming off one foot then thudded back over, shaking his head from side to side, uninjured but maybe a little dazed.

            Kana had a kick left. He stood towards the dummy, then he suddenly turned around, now his back faced the dummy and he kicked backwards while turning, the sole of his foot struck the dummy in his stomach, knocking the man over flat to his face. We all clapped for him, Kankuro told us that the move was a reserve side kick.

            However Kana wasn’t finished, he still had to show one powerful move, which I didn’t know what that could entail. The proctor had to help the man back onto his feet, he shook himself all over and took his place back in the ring.

            Kana backed up, enough that he was standing by the last vault, clearly getting ready to run forward. Kana lowered his head then charged, he leapt off his feet so his body was parallel to ground and drove his shoulder into the dummy’s midsection, while his arms pulled on the dummy’s legs. The man slammed onto his back and splayed out, defeated.

            Kana hopped up, completely unharmed. His family, Naruto included, jumped to their feet, the Inuzuka’s howled, Naruto cheered and Kankuro actually shouted, “GOOD BOY KANA!”

            Kana grinned then the proctor was giving him a slip of paper and waved him off. Kana left the field then had to go through the gate to get to the bleachers and climbed up. Kiba grabbed him close then kissed all over his face. Kana laughed and hugged Kiba back, then his aunt Hana wanted hugs and kisses too, then his grandfather Katuza gave him a strong handshake and tousled his hair.

            Kana handed his father the slip, saying, “It has my name and my test number on it. When the exam results are revealed, I just have to look for my number. If my number is on the board, then I’m in.”

            Kankuro accepted it then said, “You did great Kana. Sit down with us.”

            Kana sat and waved at myself and Naruto, then Naruto clutched my arm. “Miki’s going up!”

            The proctor had walked the back the length of the obstacle course to stand at the front and gestured to Miki, next in line.

            Miki faced the obstacle course which was built to test stamina, endurance and flexibility. However I clearly saw Miki’s disadvantage, he was very short, especially compared to the other children his age. The first set was the monkey bars and when Miki put his arm up, the bars were easily several feet over his head. Miki jumped and his fingers didn’t come close, just scrambled uselessly at the air.

            Naruto winced. “Oh Kami, this is what happens when children have two short parents.”

            “We’re not done growing,” I defended our height. “We’re only 18, men don’t stop growing until 21. He’ll overcome it, definitely.”

            Miki jumped several more times but it was all too obvious he couldn’t reach. The proctor was writing on his clipboard, then gasped, staring.

            Miki’s sand poured out of his gourd and built under his feet to make a platform. In mere seconds, the sand rose Miki up the required distance, he clasped onto the bars with both hands and swung his way across with no problem.

            Naruto surged to his feet, hands cupped around his mouth and bellowed, “YOU GO MIKI!”

            Kushina and Kiba also cheered and Kankuro clapped, Miki was his nephew. I clapped and thought, _good job Miki._ The one thing that bothered me was that Rasa wasn’t here, watching his grandson take the exam. If he was the one who so badly wanted to see his powers, he should be here, even if he was watching from the shadows. Thinking about that, I sent up my Third Eye to search and did see Rasa, who had a cloak tossed over his head, standing by some trees. He was here, watching from the shadows like I thought. I ended the jutsu and turned my attention back to Miki.

            After the monkey bars, Miki hopped down. Next was a mud pit with a long rope overhead, strung up by  a pole. He’d have to take a running jump, grab the rope and swing safely to the other side. The proctor said something to him and I read his lips.

            “No sand.”

            Naruto growled. “That’s not fair! Miki’s sand is a part of his power! He can’t just tell Miki he can’t use it!”

            Kushina said worriedly, “Yes but it can count as cheating. It’s a _physical_ exam to test Miki’s body. His sand doing all the work for him is technically cheating.”

            I knew she was right but I wondered if Miki really could do this on his own strength. I personally let my sand do all the work when I was in battles, I was a long distance fighter, let my sand fight for me and clearly Miki was going to be the same way.

            Miki looked upset but then he turned to face the crowd. He took off his gourd then raised his hand. Everyone oohed as the gourd flew up in the air right towards me and I lowered it to my side for safekeeping, nodding at my son.

            Miki gave me a wink then backed up several paces, faced the mud pit and rubbed his hands together.

            Naruto got up again, this time shouting, “YOU CAN DO IT MIKI!”

            Miki took in a breath, then ran and flung himself over the pit and grasped for the rope. His hand clasped the rope at the end, so his feet brushed over the mud, his arms strung up over his head. I winced and Naruto grasped for my hand, squeezing tight.

            I saw the pain flare over Miki’s face, the position he was in pulled at his arms, shoulders and back muscles. Miki wasn’t a physical boy, he didn’t roughhouse like Kana, he didn’t run around outside. We went to the park and he’d practice using his sand, having his sand do whatever he wanted. If he wasn’t working with sand, he liked to read and write, as well as cook experimental ramen. Something like this was out of Miki’s field.

            Miki pedaled his legs and jerked his body back and forth, gathering up momentum so he could swing to the other side. It took him a good five minutes of struggling before the rope was moving enough that with a strong buck, he was able to swing forward towards the other side. He landed on his hands and knees, panting. He sat back on his heels and winced, rubbing his shoulders.

            The proctor finished writing then gestured to Miki to continue on.

            I frowned hard. “He could at least give Miki a chance to catch his breath!”

            Naruto said, “Yeah but in the field during a battle you more than likely don’t get that chance. He’s made from sturdy stock, he’ll be okay. I have faith in him.”

            Miki stood up and climbed onto the balance beam, looking down at the mud pit. He glanced over at his gourd and I could read his mind, he could use his sand to cover the mud pit and just walk across without fearing falling into the muck. Yet he had been denied to use his sand so he had to fully rely on his physical strength. Watching him hold out his arms for balance and his feet perched precariously on the wooden beams, I wanted to have faith in him too.

            Naruto rubbed his shoulder against me and flashed me a smile. “Relax Gaara. Miki can do it. And if he falls in, he’ll just climb out and try again. Miki is no quitter.”

            I remembered when Miki walked out of the intelligence exam but decided to keep it to myself.

            Miki puttered his way across the balance beam, weaving his body to keep his balance and actually managed to get to the other side without slipping once. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding and Naruto gave me a quick knowing smile.

            Next was the belly-crawl. Miki’s nose wrinkled for a second but then with a shrug, he got down on his hands and knees then flattened to his stomach and started to crawl. Miki’s body was small and lithe, he slithered his way through very quickly, not getting tangled on the ropes.

            He got to his feet, brushed off his outfit then surveyed the seven foot tall wall in front of him, requiring him to climb the ropes. He took a running jump and leapt onto the wall about two feet off the ground then started to climb up.

            However his short legs and short arms made it difficult, the ropes were sectioned in large squares, he had to balance on a rope for his feet and stretch up for the next section of rope that his fingers could barely reach. Once he grasped on, he had to use just his arms to heave himself up until his feet could find the next section. I could see the sweat running down his forehead, how his arms strained.

            At movement by my leg, I turned to see Miki’s gourd trembling. I knew it must be reacting to Miki’s thoughts wishing he could use his sand but knowing he can’t. I wondered if a force powered Miki’s sand, like the way my mother’s will was in mine, did Miki have another will powering his sand? I thought about the possibility of the two tailed beasts possibly creating a child within Miki or even Mika.

            Watching Miki struggling to climb the rope wall, I thought to Shukaku. _Is what Rasa said true in anyway? Did the Male Pregnancy Serum make a child between you and Kurama?_

            Shukaku answered. **_I personally think that theory is bullshit but I’ll say if it did, I haven’t sensed a beast in Miki or in Mika. Us tailed beasts can talk and see each other through the bodies of our Jinchūriki. I’ve looked into both of the children, I don’t see anything in them, nothing to talk to. However if it did happen, it could simply be that the young beasts aren’t activated, hidden too deeply and only intense emotion can awaken them. Again, I think its bullshit but there you go, that’s my opinion._**

            I thanked Shukaku for his input then watched Miki topple over the edge of the wall, flumping to the ground on his back and laid there, eyes closed, breathing hard. His family all cheered and clapped for him, I was very proud then frowned as the proctor stood over him and held up five fingers. He lowered one, then another.

            I growled, upset. “He’s giving him five seconds to continue and if he doesn’t get up, he’s dismissed! I don’t like that proctor.”

            Naruto said, “I think he’s being a little harsh but also realistic. If the student can’t do this much, they aren’t fit to train to be shinobi in the first place. Miki can do it, I know he can.”

            Just as the proctor put down his fourth finger, Miki rolled onto his hands and knees, then pushed himself to his feet. The proctor gestured him to the next obstacle, he had to continue. Miki now faced the series of vaults, ten of them. The leg vaults came to Miki’s chest, he’d have to jump _so high_ just to get his leg over.

            Naruto asked, “Do you think Miki can make himself grow taller at will? Neji told me Tsubasa grew from toddler-sized to pre-teen sized because she wanted to learn how to walk.”

            I nodded, I had heard the story but I said, “They appear to have stagnated, that this is their size and age for the time being. If they just keep aging and aging so quickly, they’ll die before the year is out. I don’t think that’s what is going to happen. Miki is the size he is for now, he’ll have to learn to deal with his short stature. I did. And so did you.”

            Miki rubbed at his sopping face with his sleeves then backed up a few paces. I knew he’d need to make a running jump to get over the first vault but the vaults were spaced rather close together so he wouldn’t have the space to make another run. He needed to jump high then keep the momentum, not letting himself slow down or he wouldn’t make it.

            Miki took in a breath, then ran and jumped as hard as he could, his legs went over then he bounced again. I saw him use his hand to push off the vault as he kept jumping, not letting the momentum drop. Finally, he flumped over the last vault, belly-flopping onto his stomach, laying there, panting. The obstacle course was over, he did it.

            His family, me included, roared to our feet and shouted together, “YOU DID IT MIKI!!”

            Miki got up and waved, the huge grin on his face, his eyes curved, I knew I would never make that expression but seeing it on Miki just made me smile on the inside.

            The proctor got Miki’s attention, bringing him to the yellow line. Time for kunai practice. He handed him a kunai, holding up three fingers. Three tries.

            Miki clasped the kunai and flipped it around in his hand with such ease my brows rose.

            “Miki is a cook,” chuckled Naruto. “He’s flipping the kunai the same way he flips a spatula. Now let’s see if he can throw it.”

            Miki pulled his arm back then winced, his eyes flinched. I could imagine his shoulders and back muscles were sore. Miki threw the weapon without waiting. It skittered underneath the target, not even touching the rings.

            “OOOH…” We couldn’t help the disappointed moan, that was a terrible throw.

            His uncle Kankuro said, “His trajectory is too low. He’s short and he didn’t throw high enough.”

            The proctor handed Miki a second kunai, holding two fingers. Two tries left.

            Miki used his other arm to wipe at the sweat on his face. He tossed the kunai up and down a few times, catching the handle then he flung the weapon. The kunai sliced the bottom of the target, hitting the outermost white ring.

            Naruto and I caught eyes then went back to looking at Miki getting his final kunai. Miki stared at it then straightened up, took a breath and the kunai, his arm held higher. The kunai flew and sunk into the red ring, the closest ring next to the bull’s-eye. Miki jumped up and down with his fists in the air while his family whooped for him, his cousin Kana howled.

            The proctor got Miki’s attention and led him to the ring for taijutsu practice. The dummy stood in the center and loomed a good two feet over Miki, add in his padding and helmeted face, I understand Miki’s eyes bugging.

            The proctor told him he had to show three punches, three kicks and a powerful move. The gourd next to me gave a strong tremble, again reacting to Miki’s wish he could use it. I put my hand on it to steady it.

            Miki shifted his weight then kicked the dummy in the side. The man went flying out of the ring and hit the ground, body lax.

            “WHOA!” I couldn’t help it, I also made the loud shocked sound with the rest of the family.

             Naruto gasped, “We thought he was strong but wow! That actually probably hurt.”

            The proctor knelt by the dummy and patted his shoulders, the dummy twitched then slowly pulled himself to his knees then stood up. The padding on the dummy’s side was busted, the metal buckles cracked. They were talking but I couldn’t read their lips because their backs were towards me. Then the dummy returned to the ring and the proctor spoke to Miki, I could read his lips.

            “Hold back. No face hits.”

            Naruto nudged me. “Miki kicked him way too hard, without the padding he’d definitely broken his ribs. Jeez, I’m strong but even as a child I wasn’t _that_ strong. Miki is going to be awesome even as a Genin.”

            Miki faced the dummy again, he had two kicks, three punches and a powerful move left. I wondered about the dummy’s health when Miki dealt him a powerful move, he might kill him by accident.

            Then I blinked at a flash of pale blond hair and teal eyes, Temari was pressing through the crowded bleachers.

            “Did I miss anything?”  She panted as she sat down, my gourd and Miki’s gourd pushed to the side.

            “You’re at the end of Miki’s exam,” I said then, “What are you doing here Temari?”

            “I went to your house,” she said, glancing at me then back to the field. “No one was there and no one at Kankuro’s either. I then went to Hokage Tower and it was the Fourth Hokage who told me the Academy Examination was today. So I just got here. Hey Kankuro, Kana!” She waved and got their attention.

            “Auntie Mari I already went!” Kana’s face twisted with disappointment. “You missed my exam!”

            “Miki’s attacking again!” Naruto spoke quickly, cutting off Temari’s apology.

            Miki faced the dummy and put up his fists then punched the dummy in the gut. The man flew backwards and crashed to the ground then rolled over several times then laid still.

            Everyone gasped, I bit my lower lip as the protector rushed over. Miki rubbed the back of his head then looked up at us then held up his hands innocently with a shrug of his shoulders. I knew he wasn’t intentionally being so rough but the kid was just seriously strong. I wondered if instead of inheriting a tailed beast himself, if Miki simply just had some beastly qualities, such as being incredibly physically powerful. He was just a kid now, but wait until he was a grown man. He’d definitely incur a flee-on-sight order!

            The protector helped the man sit up, his protective plate was shattered in a circle from Miki’s punch, and there was some blood on his mouth where he must have spit up. A doctor was called over and while a new dummy was being prepared, the protector gave Miki a slip and sent him off.

            I stared. “Hey! He didn’t finish!”

            Naruto made a weak smile. “I think its quite clear that Miki is too strong to practice on a real person. He probably just passed him anyway.”

            Miki clambered into the stands and actually let Naruto and Kushina hug and kiss him. He handed me the slip, it had his name and the number 35 on it.

            Miki said with a wide confident grin, “I definitely passed!”

            I hugged him around his neck and let him sit between me and Naruto. I hoped he had passed too, but I knew he had struggled on the obstacle course, he might have lost some points and then he didn’t finish the taijutsu practice. How could he have passed?

            We had to wait several minutes as a new dummy was prepared and the original man was carted away on a stretcher, his abdomen wrapped up with blood spreading out. I glanced at Miki, he was watching with a blank straight face, his green eyes impassive. I didn’t know what to think of it and looked at Naruto. Naruto caught my eyes and looked worried but didn’t say anything. I wondered what my father thought of Miki’s performance but Mika was being brought up to start her exam so I put Rasa out of my mind.

            Mika looked up at the monkey bars, she was the second shortest girl next to Tsubasa and if Miki as the shortest boy couldn’t reach, then she definitely couldn’t reach. Mika made the tiger seal and a Shadow Clone appeared next to her. Shadow Mika hefted Mika onto her shoulders, then Mika jumped for the monkey bars, clasped it and swung her way across as the shadow clone disappeared.

            Naruto clapped wildly, and I nodded, proud of her.

            Kushina said, “My, she’s such a problem-solver!”

            The protector wrote down on the clipboard then waved his hand for Mika to continue.

            Miki’s face immediately purpled. “HEY! He didn’t tell her that she couldn’t use a shadow clone!”

            Mika faced the rope over the mud pit and created another shadow clone. The clone helped Mika onto its shoulders, then jumped together, clasping the rope and created enough momentum that they both swung onto the other side.

            The protector nodded and wrote down on his notes then gestured for Mika to continue.

            Just like that, Miki jumped to his feet and hurled insults and curses at the protector at the top of his lungs. Kushina paled at the language coming from her grandson’s mouth. Myself and Naruto forced Miki to sit down, while I covered his mouth.

            Miki yanked my hand down and protested, “Its not fair! He’s giving her an unfair advantage!”

            While Mika got onto the balance beam, Naruto said, “I think its because a shadow clone is a technique that will be taught in the Academy, while controlling sand isn’t an Konohaian ability.”

            My eyes widened. “Then that’s discrimination Naruto.”

            Naruto winced and murmured, “That’s just my best guess.”

            Mika slipped on to the balance beam and toppled over, made the tiger seal and a shadow clone, sitting in the mud, caught her and helped her back up before she entered the mud pit. Then Mika continued safely onto the other side.

            Miki was absolutely fuming, his arms crossed tightly and his gourd next to Temari was rocking violently from side to side.

            Temari said, “Miki, just calm down. You finished your exam and you did your best. Let Mika take her exam and don’t think so much about what happened with yours, okay?”

            Miki jerkily nodded and some color faded from his face but he didn’t stop crossing his arms.

            Next was the belly-crawl and Mika got down and started to crawl. Just a few feet in, her clothes got snagged by the knotted ropes. She again made a shadow clone, which the clone then picked out the snags and helped Mika continue through the crawl by un-snagging her clothes each time she got caught.

            Miki exploded again, jumping up and down with blistering swearing. He used a few words that even I hadn’t heard before. Again Naruto and I had to struggle to get him to sit down.

            Fed up, I warned him. “If you don’t shut up Miki I’ll seal your mouth closed with my sand!”

            Miki snapped his jaw closed and glared at the protector with raging green eyes.

            Naruto sighed heavily. “I just wonder where he learned all that bad language from.” He glanced at me and I put my hands up, looking back to the exam.

            Mika was at the wall-climb and scratched her head for a moment then made a shadow clone. As Mika climbed, the shadow clone went first and helped Mika reach the footholds, sometimes pulling Mika up personally.

            The protector wrote on his clipboard, nodding every now and then.

            Miki was so infuriated I both felt sorry for him and kind of wanted to laugh. Seeing my expression contorted with rage was a little frightening and brought back bad memories, but he was so cute at the same time. I did hope that the Academy might help with his temper though. Mika was so calm and sweet, I think Miki got both helpings of mine and Naruto’s tempers.

            Then came the vaults and Mika’s eyes went wide. Her shadow clone looked at her, she hadn’t dismissed it from the wall-climb. I wondered how Mika was going to use the shadow clone to her advantage, the vaults came to her upper chest, as she was two inches shorter than Miki.

            The protector spoke to her, he said, “Hurry up.”

            So with slumped shoulders, Mika dismissed the shadow clone then jumped for the vault. She basically ran into it and knocked it over, her jump hadn’t cleared the height at all. She collapsed to the ground with a flopping mouth, she had knocked the wind out of herself. The protector stood over her and held up five fingers, counting down. Mika got up at the fourth finger, just like Miki and this time jumped, caught the vault with her hand to push off and basically had to do the same thing Miki did.

            Finished, Mika fell to the ground, heaving for air.

            The protector gave her five seconds to get up, she stumbled to her feet at the fourth finger. Now it was time for kunai practice. There was no help a shadow clone could give this time, it was all up to her.

            Mika settled on the yellow marker and the protector handed over a kunai. Mika carefully held it then flung it with her arm held high. The kunai sunk into the white ring at the top.

            “Too high,” everyone said as the protector handed her another kunai.

            Mika threw again, her arm a little lower and hit the blue ring, which was next to the red then the yellow was the bull’s eye.

            “WAH!” Everyone clapped.

            Miki leaned forward. “Let’s she if she gets the bull’s eye. I almost did!”

            Third kunai was flung and Mika hit the red on the exact edge of almost touching the yellow ring.

            “Wow,” gasped Kana. “She’s really good! I totally sucked at the kunai!”

            “You just need practice,” said Kankuro. “And if you expect to be any good at puppetry, you’ll need to learn how to aim.”

            My brows raised. “Kana, you want to be a puppet master?”

            Kiba frowned. “Kana’s an Inuzuka, he’ll be learning Inuzuka jutsu.”

            “He’s just as much my son as he is yours,” countered Kankuro. “He can learn the puppet jutsu too.”

            “Stop it! Please stop arguing!” Kana shouted and covered his ears.

            “Enough you two,” said Katuza sternly. “Time and place, remember?”

            “Mika is practicing taijutsu,” said Miki loudly, pointing towards the field.

            The new dummy was there and waiting in the center of the ring.

            Mika had her fists up, so clearly the protector had already told her the assignment. She went and punched the dummy in the stomach. He just stepped back a step, not nearly as harmed as when Miki punched the last dummy into needing a stretcher.

            Naruto said, “So she’s not super strong like Miki.”

            Mika punched again, this time at the dummy’s thigh, he just brushed her off.

            I frowned. “Is she seriously that weak?”

            Naruto frowned too. “Maybe Miki inherited both of our strength and our healing capabilities. Mika must be more normal.”

            Miki had a strange smile on his face and his eyes were leaping with some other emotion I couldn’t read. I wasn’t a master at emotions but I definitely didn’t understand what Miki was emoting right now.

            Mika punched the man in the arm and her hand more or less just bounced off the armor plate and she shook her hand.

            The protector wrote on his clipboard then motioned for her to continue.

            Mika kicked the man in the shin, he wobbled to the side and then stood straight.

            Now my arms crossed and I stared down at the field. I just didn’t understand. Twins were twins, they should be the same, right? So why did Miki control sand but Mika didn’t? Why was Miki extraordinarily strong and Mika seemed to be as weak as a normal girl? Why did Miki have a serious temper problem while Mika was so kind and gentle? I was confused and I didn’t like it.

            Mika did two more kicks that were weak and ineffectual then it was time for the powerful move. Mika stood there, looking a little alone, then made a shadow clone. The shadow clone grabbed Mika and threw her forward, Mika’s arm hooked around the dummy’s neck then the shadow clone tackled the dummy around his knees, with both girls working together, the man was forced onto his back with a thud.

            “Effective,” smiled Naruto. “Though there was so many ways she left herself open to counterattack.”

            “If he was a real ninja he could have stabbed her in the back,” I had to agree. “She didn’t attempt to restrain his arms at all.”

            Even so, Mika got her slip and came up to the stands. Naruto hugged her and kissed her, then Kushina did the same.

            Mika looked at Miki with wide eyes. “I heard you shouting Miki, were you really angry?”

            “I’m fine,” he said with a small tilt to his lips. “You did good.”

            Mika squealed and hugged him tightly. “Miki!”

            Miki struggled to get her off him while Naruto quickly rescued Mika’s slip of paper with her name and the number 36 on it.

            Naruto separated the twins and got Mika to sit down in between him and Kushina.

            Then it was Hikaru’s turn. I saw his family several rows to the side, Kakashi and Iruka. The Third Hokage and Konohamaru were also sitting next to them, along with Asuma and Shikamaru, Shikaku and Yoshino. I did wonder how the Nara-Sarutobi household was doing. They had the worst time getting along  with both spouses ending up in the hospital but right now Asuma and Shikamaru were holding hands.

            Hikaru stepped up to the plate. He jumped a good three or four times before he finally grasped the monkey bars. It wasn’t because he wasn’t tall enough, he was pretty tall but his fingers just kept slipping off the bar before he got a good grasp. He swung over until he got to the mud pit. Hikaru backed up and jumped…then belly-flopped into the mud pit. He completely missed the rope, didn’t come close.

            “OOH…” Everyone hissed as Hikaru flopped and floundered in the mud pit. I saw Kakashi had covered his face with both hands, shaking his head.

            Iruka stood up, shouting, “COME ON HIKARU! GET UP! YOU CAN DO IT!”

            Hikaru paddled through the mud pit and clambered out on the other side. His outfit was dripping with brown mud and bits of rocks and leaves. He shook himself then got onto the balance beam. He wiggled across then slipped, wavered, then like in slow motion, teetered over to splash into the mud pit _again._

            Kakashi had peeked out, saw his son fall in the mud pit for a second time and covered his face again.

            Iruka shouted, “GO HIKARU GO! KEEP GOING! YOU’VE GOT THIS!”

            I had been worried about my children but at least none of them had gotten into the mud pit. Hikaru managed to do so _twice._

            Hikaru swung an arm around the balance beam to heave himself up but his entire body was so slick and slimy with mud he just slithered over the wood and splashed in on the opposite side. At this point, the balance beam was mostly covered in mud as Hikaru continued to fail to get back on, which made it even more impossible. So, he paddled over to the end of the mud pit and climbed out. Watching the circular movement of the protector’s hand as he wrote on the clipboard, I felt Hikaru had just gotten zero points.

            Naruto winced and said hopefully, “He didn’t give up until the very end, so he should be fine. Perseverance counts highly at this Academy.”

            Naruto was an optimist, I knew that but I also knew if I argued with him he’d just get angry, so I said nothing. Besides, he had made mention earlier about keeping my comments to myself.

            Next was the barbed wire crawl, though it was actually knotted rope. Hikaru scooted down and writhed underneath the ropes. However his slick muddy clothes worked in his advantage, he was too wet and slippery for the knots to clutch him, so Hikaru slid through without much problem.

            Iruka cheered for him, pumping his fists. Kakashi was peeking through his spread fingers but didn’t say anything. Kakashi was a world-renown shinobi, the Copy Ninja with an excellent lineage with his father being the White Fang. So to see his son floundering like this must be shameful to him. I actually felt more sorry for Hikaru than Kakashi, for Hikaru had a lot of pressure on his back to outshine both his father and his grandfather.

            Free of the belly-crawl, Hikaru stood up, grass sticking to his clothes and his face. He used his arm to rub at his cheek and just spread dirt there.

            The proctor motioned to him to keep going.

            Hikaru looked up at the seven foot tall rope wall, scratched the back of his head then started to climb. He had long arms and legs, though not as tall as Kana, so he was able to easily reach the foot and hand holds. The problem was he had no type of upper body strength. His arms shook as he struggled to heave himself up, his shoulders hunching inwards.

            “YOU CAN DO IT!” Iruka shouted Hikaru on. “DON’T GIVE UP, KEEP GOING!”

            Hikaru, halfway up the wall, reached up to grasp the next rung, pushed up with his foot but his shoes were slick with mud and damp grass. His foot slipped out from under him before he had gotten a grasp on the next hand hold. Just like that, he flumped to the ground on his back. He twitched then laid still for a moment.

            The proctor held up five fingers, starting the countdown.

            Kakashi stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed. “YOU EITHER GET UP OR YOU ARE DISOWNED HIKARU HATAKE! YOU HEAR ME? GET UP!”

            I was sure the entire village had heard Kakashi, my ears rung. Hikaru rolled onto his hands and knees and shakily got to his feet just as the proctor put down his fifth finger. The proctor wrote something on his clipboard then gestured to the rope wall with his chin.

            Hikaru rubbed his back with both hands then straightened his shoulders. He grabbed the two handholds, gripped his feet into the ground then pushed off, climbing up. With his new found determination, Hikaru completed the climb and jumped safely to the other side.

            Iruka cheered, and this time Kakashi cheered with him.

            Naruto said, “Having a fire lit under his butt changed things. Hikaru worships his father, so hearing that gave him the strength to keep going.”

            I nodded, tears sparked in my eyes as I imagined what it would have been like to have a father I could look up to, to want to earn his respect and be as great as he was. It was really touching.

            Naruto nudged me as I sniffed. “Come on, keep it together Gaara.”

            I used my arm to dry my eyes, saying, “I apologize.”

            Hikaru now had to do the vaults, though I was sure with his long legs he would be fine. Hikaru jumped, his knee collided with the vault and he crashed to the ground, his body taking out three other vaults. He rocked back and forth in the rubble, clutching his knee.

            Iruka and Kakashi gasped as the rest of us made loud sounds of shock. Did Hikaru hurt himself?

            The proctor called for a doctor, who examined Hikaru’s knee by lifting up his pants. His knee was bright red but already darkening into a bruise. I couldn’t tell what they were saying but the doctor lifted Hikaru to his feet and had him try and walk. Hikaru definitely favored his right leg, one hand fisting at his side. The doctor and proctor talked then the proctor held out Hikaru’s slip, clearly dismissing him from the rest of the exam.

            “He can’t pass,” said Naruto softly. “This is still halfway through the exam, going home at this point is an automatic fail.”

            Kakashi did his howler monkey imitation again. “OH COME ON! HE CAN STILL DO IT! HIKARU, DON’T YOU DARE QUIT!”

            “Kakashi!” Iruka tugged on his husband’s arm. “He’s injured, if he can’t go on then he can’t go on. A good ninja knows when to retreat. He can just take the exam next year.”

            Kakashi snapped at him. “Oh so he can be a year behind the rest of the kids his age? No, I don’t accept it. I didn’t have to retake the exam, nor did my father before me so my son won’t be retaking it either.”

            The Hatake’s started to bicker but I noticed that Hikaru was talking to the doctor and the proctor, his back was to me so I couldn’t read his lips but the two adults were nodding then the proctor waved his hand in what had to be an approving motion. The doctor knelt down at Hatake’s knee, activated the Mystical Palm jutsu and I watched as the dark bruise slid away back to cream skin.

            Naruto’s brows furrowed. “Healing isn’t usually allowed during the exam, the kids have to get through under their own strength. What could have Hikaru said to get them to break the rules?”

            Whatever it was, I watched as the vaults were set up again and Hikaru was about to re-try the jumps.

            Shikamaru said loudly, “If you’d two stop screeching at each other, you’ll notice that Hikaru hasn’t been dismissed.”

            “Huh?” The Hatake’s turned back to look at the field in time to see Hikaru leap over the first vault, this time he had raised his legs up higher to clear the bar. Then he kept going, pushing off firm with his legs to make the jumps. In only a few moments, he landed on both feet then bent over with his hands on his knees, sucking in air.

            “YOU DID IT HIKARU!” His parents cheered for him, clapping loudly. The rest of us clapped for him too, we all had to support each other.

            Hikaru stood up and gave the crowd a thumbs up, tossing a wink. The proctor got his attention, handed him a kunai and pointed to the target practice.

            Hikaru made sure he was standing on the proper marker, then pulled back his arm and flung it. It sunk into the blue ring. He threw it twice more, getting in the black and red rings.

            The proctor wrote on his clipboard, then ushered Hikaru to the taijutsu practice ring.

            I sat up straighter, wondering what kind of moves Hikaru knew. He had a Jounin teacher for a mother so naturally Iruka would be very practiced and his father was incredible. He should be blowing us all away.

            Hikaru put up his fists, then threw a punch. He touched air, he had missed the dummy’s face by at least two inches.

            “Where was he aiming?” Naruto and I spoke together.

            Kakashi hid his face again, his shoulders hunched like to turn inwards.

            Iruka called out, “TRY AGAIN HIKARU! DON’T RUSH, FOCUS!”

            Hikaru shuffled his feet then punched again. His knuckles collided into the chest plate, making the dummy step back while Hikaru shook pain out of his hand, then rubbed it in his other hand. With the proctor’s urging, Hikaru did his other punch, but he missed again as he tried to aim for the dummy’s face.

            The proctor wrote on his clipboard but I had a feeling Hikaru wasn’t going to pass this exam. In all honesty, he just sucked as a ninja.

            Naruto said as if he had read my mind, “This is why there’s the Academy. To train ninjas. If they only passed hopefuls who aced it perfectly, then the Academy wouldn’t have a lot of students.”

            Miki twisted his face to the side. “But Hikaru’s doing not too well. They almost dismissed him for getting hurt.”

            Hikaru backed up a few steps, then kicked the dummy with a twirl of his body. Instead of landing, he just swung himself around in a circle and fell over.

            Everyone winced and bit their lips. Kakashi had his hands over his face then his head in his lap, curling up even more. I really felt the man just wanted to disappear all together.

            Iruka shouted, “THAT’S OKAY HIKARU! JUST TRY AGAIN, YOU’VE GOT THIS!”

            “This is honestly the Fourth Hokage’s fault,” pointed out Temari. “If he had allowed you guys to start at least basic training with your kids then this wouldn’t be happening. A hopeful should go into the exam with some idea of how to throw a punch and how to kick.”

            Hikaru got to his feet, brushed off his pants then kicked up high, reaching for the dummy’s face. The top of his foot connected with the dummy’s chin. The dummy stumbled backwards, while Hikaru lost his balance on one leg and flumped to the ground.

            “GO HIKARU GO!” Iruka clapped wildly.

            His head lifted again, Kakashi was watching through a crack in his fingers, he just kept shaking his head over and over again.

            Mika said, “He’s doing okay in my mind. I mean, I didn’t do much better.”

            She had a point, Mika’s taijutsu exam didn’t go really well, but at least she connected with her dummy and she didn’t fall over once.

            Hikaru kicked again, he got the dummy in the stomach, who took a few steps back but was otherwise unharmed.

            “Now for the powerful move,” said Naruto, rubbing the back of his neck. “Let’s see what he’s got.”

            Iruka yelled, “GO HEAD HIKARU! GO AND DO IT!”

            Hikaru tilted his head from side to side, looking confused. He looked around at the other hopefuls. A boy was somehow tangled upside down in the rope wall, a girl hopeful was doing the vaults, a third hopeful was at kunai practice and the forth was squiggling through the belly-crawl. No one was doing anything that could help Hikaru create a powerful move.

            The proctor spoke, I read his lips. “Hurry up.”

            Hikaru rolled his lips into his mouth then nodded. He pulled up his mask over his nose, his eyes narrowed into slits. He suddenly looked like a miniature Kakashi, getting serious. He charged at the dummy, who stiffened up in preparation. Hikaru grabbed the dummy around his head and yanked him down, crashing his knee into the dummy’s face. If the dummy hadn’t had on a protective guard, a move like that could break an opponent’s nose.

            “WHOA! YOU GO BOY!” Iruka and Kakashi jumped up with their arms in the air, yelling together as the dummy crumbled to his knees.

            Hikaru stood up straight, he got his slip and hobbled up to his parents, he was favoring the knee he had used in his final move.

            Iruka clasped him in his arms, dropping kisses on his forehead. “You did it Hikaru, you did great!”

            Hikaru hugged his mother back then handed his slip to his father, his eyes looking the same over his mask. He didn’t say anything but Kakashi accepted the paper then gently tousled Hikaru’s hair.

            Now it was Tsubasa’s turn.

            Neji and Sasuke called her name until she looked up and saw them in the crowd. They waved to each other and she went up to the monkey bars. She looked up at it, saw it was easily five or four feet over her head. With a shrug, she walked past it and stopped at the edge of the mud pit. I saw the look of disgust crawl over her face. Nose wrinkled, lips twisted. She crossed her arms and shook her head from side to side.

            She spoke loudly enough I could hear it. “Ew! Gross! I’ll get dirty!”

            It was true Tsubasa was wearing an all white outfit, which didn’t make much sense to me, but being a ninja was a dirty business. Regardless of what one wore, it would get dirt, blood, mud, whatever all over it. It just came with the territory.

            The protector was talking to her, but his back was to me.

            I could hear Tsubasa’s loud complaints. “NO! I’ll get dirty! Stop! You can’t make me!”

            Naruto and I met eyes, then we watched as the Uchihas went down to the field.

            Sasuke sounded livid, his voice raised incredibly loud, “Tsubasa you’d better stop that whining and get your ass into that mud pit!”

            From the what I could gather from lip reading and Sasuke’s heightening voice, Tsubasa had decided to not take the exam because of not wanting to get her white clothes dirty. Even with Sasuke yelling at her she wouldn’t do it and the proctor had her dismissed.

            “Damn,” said Miki, watching the Uchihas leave together.

            “Don’t cuss,” I said with Naruto but I totally agreed with him.

            With Tsubasa gone, it was Sora’s turn.

            Shikamaru, Asuma, Shikaku, Yoshino, Konohamaru and the Third Hokage all clapped for her, cheering and urging her on.

            Sora gave a large smile, then jumped for the monkey bars. Her hands clasped it tightly and she swung across. She landed on her hands and knees. Behind her with popping groaning sounds, the monkey bars pulled down to the ground, collapsing in a large heap of broken pipes and wood.

            Sora didn’t look back, did a running jump and grabbed the rope to swing over the mud pit. She made it safely, but the wooden bar holding the rope snapped in the center and crashed into the mud pit, the wood shattered. Sora jumped onto the balance beam, and with each heavy trod she took the wooden beams crushed underneath her feet, until when she stepped off, she had left behind a wasteland of broken pieces of wood.

            Sora got down and sped through the belly-crawl. Her clothes got caught but as she forced herself forward, she pulled the pegs out of the ground and the knotted ropes pulled out into threads. Sora stood up, freeing herself from the ruins of the belly-crawl.

            Sora stepped back at the rope wall, then jumped onto it. Like her little body was a cannon ball, the wood bars that the ropes were strung on snapped up and down the columns, while the ropes holding her popped off. She rode the broken wall to the ground, stepped out of the rubble, then walked up to the vaults. She jumped for the first one but collided into it with her waist. The pole broke in half, and she destroyed the rest of the vaults the same way.

            All of this happened in literal minutes. It was like watching a train wreck, it happened too fast to stop it but when it was over, the damage was everywhere. Sora had singlehandedly destroyed the obstacle course, like a bull in a china shop, nothing was left standing.

            No one cheered or shouted or anything, it was like we were stunned into silence. I didn’t even know what to think about that. I had thought Miki was strong, but Miki certainly didn’t combust the obstacle course. Sora was clearly super strong like him but she didn’t have any type of control over it. She used all of her strength with everything she did, while Miki only didn’t hold back when he was fighting the dummy. Seeing this, I didn’t think Sora should fight the dummy at all.

            The proctor, who’s eyes were so wide the whites shone all around, he wrote on the clipboard but his hand was shaking so I couldn’t tell what he could be writing. Then he handed her a kunai.

            Sora gripped it in her fist, then threw it. She sunk it in the yellow bull’s-eye all the way through, leaving a kunai-shaped hole in the center of the target board, as the kunai kept going into the chain-link fence at the far end of the field. The target board wobbled then crumpled around the epicenter of the whole before collapsing into shards of dust and broken wood.

            The proctor wrote quickly on his clipboard, then handed Sora her slip. Clearly the exam was over for her, the target board was destroyed and she’d kill the dummy if she fought him.

            So Sora skipped over to her parents, grinning from ear to ear. “Did you see me? Did you see? I did great!”

            “You sure did honey.” Shikamaru kissed her forehead and hugged her. Asuma was pale and touched his neck for some reason, maybe he got a chill.

            Now that the physical portion of the exam was over, we headed to the courtyard again for the final three questions of the exam. The hopefuls were to stand in front with the spectators at the back.

            Daikoku had the microphone and said, “Now, hopefuls, here are the last three questions of the exam. Question one, do you love the village and will you help preserve peace and prosperity?”

            “YES!” All the hopefuls shouted together.

            “Question two,” said Daikoku, smiling. “Do you have a mind that will not yield, that you have the mindset that is able to endure hard training and work?”

            “YES!”

            “Final question,” said Daikoku. “Are you healthy in mind and body?”

            “YES!”

            “Exam concluded,” said Daikoku. “Remember, results will be revealed May 7th and should you pass, class starts on May 8th. Bye now!”

            And with that, the Academy Entrance Exam concluded.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC Toil and Trouble Pt2 Gaara


	11. Toil and Trouble 2 Pt 2: Gaara

_Gaara_

             Miki and Mika held hands then began to jump and down. “I bet I passed! I bet I passed!”

            Naruto laughed and nodded. “I’m sure you did too, you guys did very well.”

            I looked at the slips in my hand. One said Miki Subaku 35, the other said Mika Subaku 36. So in just two days I’d know. My cell phone vibrated with a text.

            I tucked the slips into my pocket then read the text.

            **Father: Meet me.**

            I sighed and looked around. I saw the other families meeting up and talking, it sounded like everyone wanted to go to lunch together. The only family not there was the Uchihas, Sasuke, Neji and Tsubasa were gone.

            I texted back.

            **Me: When and where?**

            **Father: My hotel room. Now.**

            I winced then Naruto stood in front of me, he smiled at me with arched brows. “Come on Gaara, we’re going to get food with everyone else.”

            I said, “One second Naruto.”

            I turned my back and sent my father a text.

            **Me: It’ll have to be tomorrow. I’ve already disappeared once, to do it again is too suspicious.**

**Father: Fine. Tomorrow, same place and time.**

**Me: Yes sir.**

            My phone back in my pocket, I went to the restaurant with the rest of the family and friends. That included Temari, Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage, Kushina Uzumaki, Shikaku Nara and his wife, Hana and Katuza Inuzuka. The Uchihas, including Sasuke, Fugaku and Mikoto, didn’t come, nor did Neji or his uncle Hiashi Hyuga who had been at the exams.

            When we got to the restaurant, the children took up a booth by themselves, all eagerly talking about their exam while the adults shared a large table nearby to keep an eye on them.

            Asuma said, “Sora is unnaturally strong. I saw what your son did to his taijutsu dummy Gaara and I thought Sora would do the same. Instead, she did much worse.”

            He looked pale and again touched his neck.

            Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage and Asuma’s father, stroked at his beard. He sat next to his son with Shikamaru next to Asuma on his other side.

            Still thoughtfully rubbing his beard, Hiruzen said, “Ah, rather than worse, she just did not hold back. However I feel it was a lack of training that had her destroy the obstacle course. With some of that, she will learn how to conserve her strength and only go full power when absolutely necessary. Even Lady Tsunade doesn’t unleash all of her power like that.”

            “True,” said Naruto from next to me, Temari was on my other side, with me in the middle. “But I thought Tsunade’s power comes from chakra she stores up then lets loose at once. Sora hasn’t mastered how to use chakra like that, has she Shikamaru?”

            Shikamaru shook his head. “No. Its in her bones, her body is just naturally that strong. We thought she might of inherited it from Asuma but she’s stronger than him already. If she gets stronger as she grows up, then yes, she needs training immediately so she’s not pulling down buildings or accidently killing people.”

            “What about Miki?” Temari asked this, biting her lower lip for a second. “We all saw how he nearly killed his taijutsu practice dummy. Gaara and Naruto may be Jinchūriki but neither of them showed off that amount of physical strength when they were just kids; not unless they open a tail or several in Naruto’s case. Do we know if Miki _or_ Mika have a tailed beast?”

            I told them what Shukaku had told me, finishing with, “So while I don’t think they do, if they did, why does only Miki show signs of superior strength? Mika seems to be just as strong or as weak as a villager.”

            “Maybe she hasn’t developed yet,” suggested Kushina from Naruto’s other side. “After all, the children did grow quickly in physical size but things like super strength take more time. Maybe today she’s weaker than Miki but give her tomorrow and she’ll be punching people into the hospital as well.”

            Kiba shook his head. “I don’t think the Fourth Hokage will like that. If the kids are dangerous to society, maybe he’ll change his mind about them being ninjas.”        

            Iruka shook his head next. “No way, the Fourth Hokage won’t go back on his word. And the idea of not letting them train will not only not go over very well, it’s also a terrible idea. Getting official Academy training will _help_ the problems. Sora will learn how to reign in her strength, Miki will learn how to properly control his when in combat situations, only good things can come from this. Though I do wonder what will happen to Tsubasa, she can’t join without taking the exams.”

            Kakashi snorted. “What? She’s got the backing of both the Hyuga and Uchiha clans. They’ll just pull strings and get her accepted into the Academy even if she didn’t take the exam. I have no doubts about that. If Hyuga and Uchiha put enough pressure on the Council to override the Academy’s decision, which they will, the Council will fold, then override any protest the Fourth might make, then there you go, Tsubasa will be in the Academy. Period, end of story.”

            I was stunned at how Kakashi had just outlined the future that way, especially because he seemed so sure of himself. Asuma was nodding and so did Katuza and Kushina.

            Shikaku spoke next, he was next to Shikamaru then Yoshino next to him. “I don’t really like it but Kakashi is right. The Uchihas and the Hyugas won’t stand for their Hyuiha heir to be rejected from the Academy. They have too much pride and too much sway with the Council to just accept it without a fight. However the fact remains that Tsubasa just refused to take it and even when she is allowed into the Academy, that’s a problematic mindset she’ll have to be trained out of. God help her instructor.”

            Iruka smiled just a little bit. “I know Tsubasa is bull-headed, she’s got it honestly from her parents but I don’t think she’ll let her stubbornness interfere with becoming a great kunoichi. As she sees her peers working hard and becoming stronger, it’ll be that same stubborn pride that’ll make her work just as hard. Having clean clothes versus being the weakest person in class won’t sit right with an attitude like that.”

            I nodded, that made perfect sense. “Not to mention Sasuke and Neji won’t let her slack off either. She is stubborn but I’m sure she’ll want the approval of her parents just like anyone else does.”

            My chest tightened as I remembered not getting the approval of my father, how I wasn’t an asset to the village even though I was meant to be his greatest weapon.

            Naruto put a hand on my knee and squeezed, so I breathed in from my nose and did my best to not just start crying here.

            The conversation eventually moved on from talking about the children and after we all ate, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. On the walk home, Miki and Mika did blow by blow accounts of their exams, expressing their wishes to do it again only this time better.

            Naruto said, “Retaking the exam isn’t what you guys should be rooting for, you should be looking forward to getting the results and starting official Academy lessons on Friday. You’ll learn everything you need to know about being a Konohaian ninja. So bask in the glow of completing the exams, sleep good tonight, you’ve two have earned it.”

            Sleeping good was true, as both were knocked out sleep in bed just a few minutes after we got home.

            Naruto frowned. “It’s barely six o’ clock. They’ll be wide awake by midnight.”

            “Miki and Mika both like to sleep,” I pointed out. “They only woke up so early this morning because they were excited. I’m sure they’re actually exhausted and satisfied, so they should sleep the entire night just fine.”

            Naruto smiled. “And while they’re sleeping, we can have our nightly fun. We never finished in the shower this morning.”

            I glowered at him. “Is that all I am to you Naruto? _Nightly fun_? That’s what this marriage is? Just fucking?”

            I bit my lower lip and turned my head away but my eyes burned as the tears came back.

            Naruto groaned then hugged me tightly. “Gaara, Gaara, please don’t cry! I don’t know why you’re having these weird mood swings but please, it seriously hurts me when you cry.”

            I winced at his hug, the tight hold pressed our chests together and my chest hurt. I pulled away then took off my grey vest then pulled off my shirt then my undershirt, revealing my chest. I still muscled but my pecs that looked puffy and kind of red, like swollen.

            “It hurts,” I said, hissing as I gently touched them.

            “You must have been exercising too much,” said Naruto, getting an ice pack from the freezer then wrapped it in a towel. “Not that I’m complaining about your body but take it easy on the crunches.”

            “Thanks,” I said, accepting the ice pack and gently massaging it on my pecs. “I don’t remember exercising too much. I think I’ll pass on the fun tonight…oh.” I glanced at him. “I didn’t mean what I said Naruto. I know that our marriage is still developing but it’s definitely more than just having sex. Forgive me?”

            Naruto smiled at me, his blue eyes bemused and kind. “Gaara I’ve forgiven you for everything odd and out of place and out of character thing you’ve said today. From the moment you woke up you’ve been in some kind of mood, crying randomly and saying things that aren’t like you. Maybe you’ll be better when you wake up. Ready for bed?”

            I nodded, gathered up my clothes and we retired to the bedroom. I slept fitfully, waking up with short hard jabs of pain in my pecs, then using the ice pack to rub on them until I fell back asleep. I woke up when there was a shout and something heavy landed on my abs.

            My eyes flashed open and it was Miki sitting on me again. He patted my cheeks and said at a near-roar, “It’s time to check the Academy results! To see if I passed! Wake up Dad, come on, wake up!”

            I groaned and placed my arm over my eyes. “Didn’t I tell you not to wake me up like this?”

            He said, “I didn’t shake you or yell so loud. Come on, I’ll drag you out of bed.”

            He got me off then grabbed my hip and my leg.

            “No, stop.”

            I sat up and brushed him off before he could do it. I rubbed my eyes and checked the digital clock, it was only six in the morning. I groaned and laid back down.

            “Miki, go back to bed,” I rolled over, putting my face in the pillows. “Can’t you at least wait until eight am?”

            “I’ve been up since four!” He complained, grabbing my arm and pulling on me. “Sleeping is boring Dad, the only cool stuff happens when I’m awake! I want to go to the Academy! I need to see if I passed! I know I passed but I want to know for sure! Dad! DAD!”

            Naruto spoke, his voice sounded more like a growl, “Miki, stop yelling at your father. Go and do something to pass the time until we wake up _on our own_. The Academy Bulletin Board probably hasn’t even posted the results yet, the Academy’s doors don’t open until nine am. Thirdly, today is the 6 th, the exam results aren’t being released until the 7th, tomorrow. Go on, you too Mika. Just don’t make too much noise. We’ll come out of our room and let you know when we’re awake.”

            Miki spoke, his voice shocked, “Wait, tomorrow? I have to wait until TOMORROW?”

            I clasped my hand over my ear. “Miki, enough already! You’re too early! The exam was just yesterday, how could they have evaluated everyone and post the results so soon? They’ll be going over all the examinees today then post the grades tomorrow! Go away already!”

            “Gaara,” warned Naruto. Then he said more kindly, “Sorry Miki, Mika, you’re just a day too early. Go ahead and do something to entertain yourselves until we wake up, okay? And again, don’t wake us up like this anymore.”

            Miki protested but he left, Mika at least made an apology before she left. The door closed.

            “He’s excitable,” said Naruto when I muttered several curses under my breath. “Can you imagine being awake at four am?”

            I smiled just a little, remembering. “Yes Naruto, I can. I was an insomniac for most of my life. It’s only been since this past April that I’ve been allowed to sleep like a normal person, only safe in this bed.”

            Naruto rolled over and faced me, his blue eyes heavy-lidded and he looked sleepy, but he said, “Then go ahead and get some more rest. If Miki wakes you up like that again, I think he’ll deserve a little swat on the butt.”

            My smile widened. “How about two big swats?”

            Naruto’s eyes narrowed. “One medium swat and that’s the final offer.”

            “Deal,” I said, closing my eyes and letting myself get a few more hours of sleep.

            It was eight thirty when I woke up again, this time a little more rested. Naruto decided for me to take a shower by myself because of my aching pectorals and he went to check on the kids who had been left to their own devices for half the morning already.

            The shower was short and painful, the hot water hitting my chest made my pecs sting like the water was needles. Even brushing the washcloths on my skin felt like rubbing with Brillo pads. Finally finished with the tortuous shower, I got dressed. Putting on clothes wasn’t that much better, my shirts and my buckled vest pressed against my chest too tightly. I didn’t know if it was from over-exercising but I was definitely going to cool it with the crunches and sit ups from now on.

            After brushing my teeth and running my fingers through my hair, I left the bedroom.

            Naruto came from the backyard and smiled to see me. “Hey, I’ll take my shower now. The kids have basically turned the backyard into a sand castle paradise, you should go see.”

            My fists clenched. “So now you’re just ordering me around? What if I don’t _want_ to go see? Ever thought that I might have ideas of my own Naruto?”

            Naruto slowly blinked then he said with a shaky smile, “So now instead of crying, your mood swings are anger based?”

            I blinked next then my face flushed.

            I muttered, “Sorry Naruto. I didn’t mean it.”

            Naruto smiled and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “It’s okay Gaara, really. I’ll admit I don’t know why you’re having weird behavior but maybe that’s just because you’re learning about emotions. You don’t know how to deal with them so they’re coming out randomly. I bet once you’ve cycled through them all you’ll figure out how to use them properly. Of course you don’t have to go back there if you don’t want. I’ll be back, gotta shower.”

            I moved to the side to let him pass and went to the living room. I sat down and slouched over then winced as that scrunched my chest and laid back instead against the couch cushions. I was too confused but I didn’t want to tell everyone my business.

            I texted Temari.

            **Me: Good morning Temari. Question. My pectorals are very sore, it hurts when I touch with water, my clothes or my hands. Also my moods are highly unusual, yesterday I was easily moved to emotional outbursts like crying, shouting and said things not like my normal character. Today I’ve already been snappish and angry for no reason. Do you have any idea why?**

            It took several minutes for a reply.

            **Temari: Honestly, you sound like me on my period! But seeing as you are a dude, you aren’t on a period and you’re eighteen, so you should be done with puberty by now. Hmm, what does your wife say?**

            I told her Naruto said maybe it was me learning about emotions and not knowing how to handle them.

            **Temari: Cycling emotions? Sounds plausible but you’ve been free of psychopathy for seven years now, plenty of time to learn about emotions and you’ve never acted like this before. Maybe its just a reaction from being around children and being a husband. This is a new life style you’ve never been in before, maybe you’re just settling in.**

            I shook my head.

            **Me: Temari I’ve been living with Naruto and the twins for three weeks. We all got married on April 16 th and today is May 6th. My mood swings just started yesterday morning and I only had the aching pecs until last night. Maybe its nothing and I’m making too big a deal out of it.**

**Temari: Probably it is nothing. Bodies just act out and do weird things sometimes. Sure, it might not be a period but you could have something hormonal going on. Just give it a few days and it’ll pass. Then you’ll be back to your normal self. I’m glad you texted me, I want to come over and hang out with the twins for a while. That cool?**

            **Me: That’s fine. Naruto and I haven’t eaten, so come around ten or so.**

**Temari: Okay, I’ll be there. Side note, I’m really proud of you Gaara. I don’t know a whole lot but some of the other husbands really acted like class A assholes before settling down. You were like a cherub from the get-go. Just keep up the good work, okay?**

            My face warmed again but this time for different reasons.

            **Me: Don’t get gushy. I’ll see you soon.**

            **Temari: Ha-ha. Okay.**

            I put down the phone as Naruto came in and he went to the kitchen. “Are you hungry Gaara? Anything specific you want to eat?”

            I got irritated, my teeth clenched. “Why did you ask if I was hungry then ask what I want to eat? Maybe I’m not hungry, maybe I don’t want anything!”

            My voice raising made me stop and check that my mood had just swung out of my control again.

            I said quickly, “Sorry Naruto. And no, I’m not hungry just yet. Oh, Temari is coming over around ten, is that okay?”

            Naruto nodded, tossing me a quick grin. “It’s fine. And you don’t have to apologize for snapping at me Gaara, we know you’re having some weird behavior, and I’m okay. As long as you don’t take it out on the twins, I can handle it. I’ve been treated worse than just you getting snippy at me.”

            I nodded and moved to sit at the kitchen table as Naruto began preparing instant ramen to eat.

            “You’d think people would be afraid to talk back to you,” I said. “With your father being the Fourth Hokage.”

            Naruto chuckled as he sat down, watching the clock to time his ramen. “Well naturally they wouldn’t do it in front of his face and definitely not when my mother was around. However there were plenty of people who had reason to hate me for being the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi. Even Iruka didn’t like me at first, Kurama killed his parents and it took time before he became a real good mentor and friend.”

            “Kids at school didn’t always like me either, they had their parents whispering about not being friends with me, I mean, plus being the Hokage’s son, that’s enough to make people worried about word getting back to him. You were the son of the Kazekage and people still hated and feared you too. I definitely didn’t have a sweet easygoing childhood. It took time, it took proving myself.”

            “Minato Namikaze is a world renown name, he’s the most powerful Hokage we’ve ever seen, he has a flee-on-sight order, he can kill an one thousand man army in one second. Then came me, I’m a Jinchūriki from birth and I was a complete failure at the Academy, I was called dead-last, an idiot, a loser, no one even believed I’d ever be anything else but a failure. I had to keep saying _don’t underestimate me_ over and over again and finally I became the powerful ninja I am today.”

            Naruto sighed as the lid of his ramen peeled backwards and he stared at it with this strange expression, an emotion that I didn’t recognize there and couldn’t translate.

            He said softly, “I was really on the highway to the top. I had just become a Chunnin, I was taking A-rank missions above my grade, I had mastered some really powerful jutsu. People had _just_ started to think I may live up to my father the Yellow Flash’s name. I heard one guy, just one, call me the Orange Hokage. Man, I think I cut a cartwheel when I heard him say that. However…that’s all got to stop now.”

            I nodded, looking at the table. “I know Naruto. Personally, I really looked up to you in a lot of ways. Fighting you back then at the Chunnin exams, you snapped my brain back into place. These past seven years has totally changed my village’s outlook on me, my father finally accepted me as who I was and not just seeing me as a weaponized asset to the village. I made Chunnin and I wanted to take the Jounin exams this year too. Now this.”

            “Is _this_ us?”

            At Miki’s voice, we both looked up.

            Miki and Mika stood at the entrance of the hallway, which broke the living room and the kitchen in half. They were standing there so silently that it was clear neither me or Naruto, even though Naruto had a direct view of the hallway, hadn’t noticed them standing there. Being able to hide your presence was a basic skill for a ninja and these two had it spades.

            Miki’s hands were clenched in fists, Mika’s eyes watered.

            Mika spoke, “Are we the problem? Do you wish we never had us? We’re just a mistake to you?”

            “Hold on,” said Naruto, putting his hand up. “We didn’t say that. We were having a personal conversation you two. If you needed something, you should have gotten our attention, not stand there and eavesdrop.”

            Miki’s lip curled. “Eavesdrop? You’re in the kitchen! It’s your fault you didn’t see us!”

            I stood up, now my face was reddening. “Miki, shut your disrespectful mouth! No, it’s not our fault! You two walked up silently and stood there as quietly as you could to make _sure_ we didn’t notice you! You were eavesdropping, plain and simple! The next time you mouth off like that, not even Naruto will stop me from slapping your head around in a circle, got that!”

            Miki took a step back, his eyes widening then he clenched his jaw and turned his head to the side, saying nothing.

            “Don’t fight,” whispered Mika, her blue eyes looked like watery marbles and her nose turned pink. “Mommy, Daddy…are you mad we’re here? If you could, would you never do the experiment in the first place, even if it means we’d be dead?”

            It was quiet after that and I lost my anger as I had no idea what to say. I looked at Naruto for help but he was looking at me to say something.

            Miki shook his head then tsked. He laughed but it was short and bitter. “Well there’s your answer Mika. Silence means yes. I’m outta here.”

            He walked to the backyard but came back with his gourd on his back, belted with the sash I had given him.

            “Miki, wait!” Naruto called out and stood up but Miki just walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

            Mika stared at us, tears rolling down her face then with a choked sob, she ran out of the house too, not even closing the door behind her.

            “Dammit.” Naruto sat back down and clasped his forehead. “That went well.”

            “I’m calling Temari,” I said.

            I went to the couch where I left my phone, picking it up.

            “Why?” Naruto asked as I pressed her number on speed dial. “The kids are gone.”

            “Temari can find them and say to them what we couldn’t,” I said while it rang. “Temari may be brash, abrasive, loud and rude half the time but she’s also courageous, honest and seriously knows what to say. She’ll take care of this.”

            “Take care of what?” Temari asked on the other line. “Thanks for the compliment but if you’re extolling my virtues then that means there’s a mess you want me to clean up, yeah?”

            “Yes,” I said. “Miki and Mika ran out of the house, Miki is mad and Mika was crying. I just wanted you to find them and help them out.”

            Temari whistled then said, “Alright, what did you two numbskulls do?”

            I told her about what happened, ending with, “We didn’t intend on them to hear that and we weren’t ever going to say something like wishing they were never created. We were just acknowledging that our lives had been derailed by the experiment but its not like we were complaining or anything. We were just talking privately and the kids listened in. We just need them to calm down again.”

            “Yeah I got it,” said Temari, sighing and it sounded like she was rubbing her forehead. “Damn, you guys sure did fudge the day up before it really began. Okay, I’ll start looking for them, you guys just stay out of the way until I call you or I bring them home. Don’t worry too much, I don’t think Miki will go on a killing spree, not with Mika there to rein him in. Talk to you later. Oh, you owe me big time for this. I’ll think about what you can do for me afterwards.”

            “Great,” I mumbled but then said louder, “Alright, thanks Temari. And yeah, I do owe you one. Later.”

            “Bye.”

            She hung up and I said to Naruto, “She agreed to help.”

            “I know,” he said, throwing out his soggy ramen. “I have really good hearing and Temari talks pretty loud as it is. So what do you want to do while she cleans up the clusterfuck we just did?”

            “I guess we can just spend time together,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. I winced as moving my arm pulled my tender pecs and lowered my arm back. “We haven’t spent any alone time besides in bed.”

            Naruto’s expression lit up. “Yeah! Just me and you. Come on.”

            He took my hand and we left the house.

            “Where to first?” I asked as we walked out of the house.

            “We didn’t eat,” reminded Naruto. “So let’s hit Ichiraku’s. I’ll teleport us there. Ready?”

            I nodded and with a puff of smoke, we reappeared outside of Naruto’s favorite ramen stand.

            “Hey old man!” Naruto waved at the older gentleman behind the counter. “I need one pork ramen bowl and oh, Gaara, what do you want?”

            I personally thought eating ramen for breakfast was weird and besides, I still wasn’t hungry. I said so as I took a seat on the stool outside of the serving counter. Naruto sat down next to me.

            The man said, “Coming up. Oi, Naruto, there’s been crazy rumors going around. You got a sex change?”

            Naruto snorted and choked then spoke in a hoarse voice, “No, I didn’t. I did have a pair of twins but they’re with their aunt right now. Teuchi, have you met Gaara before? He’s my husband and father to our twins.”

            Teuchi blinked a few times but nodded politely to me. “Nice to meet you.” Then he turned back to Naruto. “How’d you have twins if you didn’t get a sex change? I heard that Orochimaru had changed men into women or something like that.”

            Naruto said, “No, his experiment didn’t have the power to completely change my sex. This is what happened.”

            Naruto told the story while I sat quietly and readjusted my clothing. My pecs felt hot and tenderized, my clothes irritated them.

            Naruto got his food and glanced at me. “You sure you don’t want anything?”

            My eyes narrowed. “I SAID I didn’t want ramen!”

            Hearing my voice raise made me shut my mouth and put my hand on my forehead, exhaling slowly and I closed my eyes tightly.

            _What’s gotten into me lately? My emotions have been seriously out of whack. On one hand, I’m glad I’m learning about emotions but on the other hand this is way too extreme. Even Naruto doesn’t yell randomly then start crying the next second._

            “I apologize,” I said to Naruto, opening my eyes and looking at him from under my lashes. “I didn’t mean to snap.”

            “You know something,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe having children just threw your natural equilibrium off. With Miki working your nerves and having a young daughter, you’re probably just rapidly cycling different emotional responses. Once you’ve figured it out you’ll be normal again.”

            I sat up straighter and nodded. “That makes sense Naruto. I really have to apologize to Miki, I just keep yelling at him. He probably hates me.”

            Naruto shook his head. “Miki is a combative kid, if you didn’t yell at him he’d walk all over you. He probably needs to know he can’t get away with whatever he wants. I doubt he hates you but I’m sure he knows better than to try and go against you as well.”

            I nodded and felt better about it.

            Naruto slurped down the last of his ramen, paid and we left.

            “So what now?” I asked, pushing my hands into my pockets. Normally I’d cross my arms over my chest, but that would just hurt with how achy the two mounds were.

            “Let’s just hang out together,” said Naruto, sliding his arm through mine. “Is there anything specific you want to do?”

            We talked about it as we strolled the village, and ended up in the market place. I finally got hungry, and there were plenty of food vendors, so I ate deep-fried octopus balls, grilled squid on a stick, and chocolate bananas.

            We had just sat down a puppet show going on for children that Naruto insisted I’d watch with him, when my phone dinged. I excused myself for a minute to read it.

            **Father: Meet me.**

            I winced, and remembered I said I would meet him today.

            I bit my lip and looked over at Naruto. He was smiling watching the show, and I had been finally enjoying myself.

            I texted back.

            **Me: Now?**

            The reply came quickly.

            **Father: YES NOW.**

            I sighed.

**Me: Yes sir. On my way.**

**Father: Remember, don’t tell anyone I’m here.**

**Me: Alright, I won’t. Be there soon.**

            I went back to Naruto and said, “I have to go now Naruto, so I’ll see you at the house later.”

            Naruto’s smile fell then his expression hardened. “Where are you going Gaara? You don’t have a job, we’re not in classes, the children are with Temari. Where can you possibly need to be?”

            I said firmly, “It doesn’t matter, I’ll be back later.”

            I turned to leave, Naruto grabbed my wrist. “Don’t turn your back on me Gaara! I’m asking you where you’re going! We’re having a good time, why are you leaving? And you left the exam yesterday too, and you didn’t tell me where you were going then either.”

            I jerked my wrist back, and knowing there was nothing I could say, and my heart aching that Rasa was forcing this wedge between me and my wife, I teleported to the front of the Great Fire Leaf Hotel. I went to Rasa’s door and knocked.

            He opened it and I snapped as I stormed in, “Fine, I’m here. Thanks to you Naruto is mad at me.”

            Rasa sighed and closed the door. “I don’t really care about your relationship with the fox boy, I’m interested in the children. Now, let’s sit and talk about this reasonably, so how about you drop the attitude Gaara.”

            I glared at him but I took off my gourd and sat down at the small table, Rasa sat across from me. He had a pile of papers on the table, all notes and diagrams.

            I said quietly, “You’ve really been doing your research.”

            “And I really want Miki and Mika in Sunagakure, where they belong,” he said. “The Academy exams just hinted at what those two can be capable of with the proper experimentation and training.”

            I rubbed at my forehead, and winced as the movement of my arm pulled my pecs.

            “What about Kana?” I lowered my arm into my lap, looking at my father. “Did you see him as well?”

            “I’ve been talking about Kana to Kankuro,” he said. “So you don’t need to worry about it. Now I think its time you allow me to take Miki and Mika to Sunagakure, I’m sure that-”

            I cut him off. “No. The results for the exam come out tomorrow, and if they pass, they start the Academy the next day. Besides, I have to live here with Naruto for at least another three years. They aren’t going anywhere, period.”

            Rasa’s teeth ground but then he nodded. “Fine. Then I need you to start doing some tests. I want to know if the two have in-born tailed beasts, maybe the Ichibi and Kyuubi haven’t sensed anything because the beasts are sleep. To wake them, intense emotional upheaval will do it.”

            I stared at my father. “You want me to break them down psychotically, repeat the horrible mistake you did to me?”

            Rasa actually winced then forced a smile. “Ah, no, it doesn’t have to be a _bad_ emotion. Maybe make them really happy, that could do it.”

            My fists clenched. “Now you and I both know making those two really happy won’t wake up any beast, saying they have it. It would have to be a negative emotion, like rage or hatred or fear. And I told you, I’m not letting you experiment on them.”

            Rasa breathed out heavily. “You’re really pushing the limits of my control Gaara.”

            I stood up. “I told you, if you want to see the children, you should introduce yourself to them as their grandfather. I want them to grow up as happily and healthily as I can, grow up in the way I _didn’t_. You ruined my childhood and mental well-being, and it was only Naruto who fixed me, then growing close with my siblings and eventually winning the respect of my village. So I won’t let you do the same to the twins.”

            Rasa stood up as well. “I think this meeting has gone on long enough for the day. You’re dismissed Gaara, and I’ll talk to you soon. Remember, don’t tell anyone about this, including Naruto and the Fourth Hokage.”

            I put on my gourd and went to the door.

            I said as I stepped out, “You’re going about this the wrong way Rasa. And I refuse to let you hurt my children.”

            Then I teleported back to the house, outside on the sidewalk. The door was open, and I could see Naruto standing by the kitchen phone.

            I walked in and took off my gourd.

            Naruto said, “He just came back. Talk to you later.”

            He hung up and crossed his arms, watching me moodily.

            I sighed and rubbed my face. I couldn’t talk to Naruto about this, even though I didn’t agree with what Rasa was doing, I couldn’t go against him either.

            Naruto said, “Gaara, can’t you talk to me? What’s going on? Besides your mood swings, you’ve disappeared on me twice. And…” His brows wrinkled. “I haven’t forgotten your comment about stripper poles the other night either. Is that what this is? Do you have someone else?”

            I shook my head. “No, it’s nothing.”

            Naruto stared at me. “You can’t just blow me off Gaara, I won’t let you.”

            “Well I gave my answer.” I said curtly, then seeing his shocked and hurt expression, I tried to dial back. “Listen, I’m not cheating or anything. And the stripper pole was just a joke, really, I was kidding around.”

            Naruto said nothing now, and turned his head away, but not before I saw a glimmer of tears in his blue eyes.

            “Naruto…” I went towards him and tried to pull him in a hug, but he pushed me away, then walked to our bedroom, closing the door quietly but distinctly behind him.

            I sighed and sat down on the couch by myself.

            About an hour or so later, the bedroom door opened and Naruto came out. He sat next to me on the couch, and clasped his hands over his knees.

            “I just needed to calm down and think before I said something I regretted,” he said. “If there’s a secret you’re keeping from me, okay, I get it. You say you’re not cheating, and you don’t smell like sex, and it doesn’t seem like you’ve showered or anything, so I’ll believe you. I just don’t like it Gaara, I really don’t.”

            “I don’t either,” I said honestly, and hesitantly placed my hand on top of his.

            Naruto shifted so my fingers slid in between his and we held hands tightly.

            Naruto said, “Okay. Just promise me this won’t come back and bite you on the ass.”

            I said, “I don’t think I can promise that. But I’ll do my best.”

            Naruto sighed and rested his head against my shoulder for a minute.

            Then the door rattled as it opened, and it was Temari and the twins.

            We both stood up and Mika ran forward, wrapping her arms around our waists, chirruping, “Mommy, Daddy!”

            We hugged her back, then Naruto hunkered down. “Mika, are you okay? Are you still mad at us?”

            “And you Miki.” I looked up, he was setting his gourd by the door, right next to mine. “Are you angry with me still?”

            Miki rubbed the back of his neck, his face emotionless.

            Temari tapped his back. “Go on Miki. Now’s not the time to put on airs or be misleading. Go on now.”

            Miki sighed and came over to me. Naruto stood, and holding Mika against him with one arm, his other arm went around my waist, stepping closer to me and Miki.

            Miki said, “I’m not angry anymore. Aunt Temari told us how yeah…Mika and I weren’t planned at all. And I can’t be angry about it, because it’s not like I asked to be here either. But I am here, and so all of us have to get along and adjust to our new lives together. You don’t hate me, and I don’t hate you. I want us to be a happy family…so I have to try to follow the rules better and do as I’m told. And once I’m in the Academy, I should focus on my studies and being a good shinobi, so I can protect my family and the villages. So I’m sorry for misbehaving and yelling. Okay?”

            “More than okay, that was perfect.” Naruto let go of my waist to pull Miki into his arms, and the three hugged, so I hugged for a second, because my pectorals protested getting smushed together like that.

            “And I’m sorry too Miki,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder as the other three broke apart. “I’ll be honestly with you two, something has been wrong with Daddy’s moods lately, and I haven’t been acting like myself. I promise you two once I’m back to normal, I won’t yell and be mean like I have been. So I’m sorry too.”

            “It’s okay.” Mika smiled up at me, her eyes creasing into curved slits. “We were being bad too. Auntie Temari said we shouldn’t wake you up in the mornings like that and we should be more obedient. Even though we were unplanned, we’re still a family. And I want us to all be happy together.”

            Temari really knew what to say! I was so glad I called her, but now I had to figure out how to pay her back, because I did certainly owe her.

            I went to her and she placed her hand on my chest but I yelped and jerked backwards.

            “Oops.” Temari put her hand down. “Sorry. Look, you don’t actually have to pay me back Gaara. We’re a family, and I’m glad I was able to calm them down and talk to them, we had some fun and I got to know them a little bit better. They are both equal mixes of you and Naruto, it’s like you two were split down the middle, then mixed up into two bodies. So they’re at the same time completely unique, both from you two and from each other. When you spend more time one-on-one with them, you’ll see what I mean.”

            “I already have noticed,” I said with a short smile. “Still, thanks Temari. So, how long are you going to stay in Konoha?”

            “For a while longer,” she said. “Until you and my brother get your acts together. Kiba told me Kankuro has been leaving at odd times, and won’t tell him where he’s going. Do you know anything about it Gaara?”

            _So Rasa has been meeting with Kankuro. And it seems like Rasa didn’t even tell Temari he was here. He’s really keeping himself under the radar. But that means Sunagakure doesn’t have anyone from the Kazekage’s family currently in the village._

            I said, “No, I haven’t seen Kankuro since the exams yesterday.”

            Temari’s eyes cinched and I looked away before her teal eyes could penetrate my mind any deeper.

            “Okay Mr. Secrecy,” she said, tsking. “Just make sure you don’t jeopardize your family, understand?”

            “Yes ma’am,” I said.

            She told us both goodbye, hugged the twins and left.

            Now it was past lunchtime, and we ended up all saying we were hungry.

            “What do you want to eat-” stared to ask Naruto.

            “RAMEN!” The twins both parroted loudly.

            “Ramen it is,” chuckled Naruto. “Will you have some this time Gaara?”

            “Sure,” I said, and as a family we went back to Ichiraku’s.

            The man stared at the children. Miki, with his red hair, pale skin and green eyes, and Mika, with her blue eyes, yellow hair and light-tone skinned.

            “These are my children Teuchi,” said Naruto, placing his hand on both of their shoulders. “Miki looks like Gaara, and Mika looks like me. Guys, this is Teuchi, he makes the best ramen in Konoha, so when you want some ramen, this is the only place to go. Okay, go ahead and order.”

            We each took a seat, and while Naruto and I ordered pork ramen, Mika had chicken and Miki had beef. They told us about their visit with Temari, and after we finished eating and paid, instead of going home, we took in a movie. After the movie, it was back home and dinner time, so Naruto cooked, grilled fish, rice and miso soup.

            Miki breathed out shakily while we were cleaning up and said, “The exam results come out tomorrow.”

            “Yes,” said Naruto. “And please don’t wake us up at four in the morning, okay? Gaara and I seem to naturally wake up more around eight-thirty to nine-thirty, so just let us wake up on our own. We’ll get dressed, eat breakfast, and we’ll go to the Academy to see if your numbers are pinned on the bulletin board. So get a lot of sleep, get some rest, okay?”

            Mika stared at us. “What if we don’t pass? What if our numbers aren’t there?”

            I said, “Then you’ll just have to retake the exam next time. So we’ll make sure to do more training and studying, now that we’ll have some knowledge of what the test is about. But really, I don’t think you guys failed, you did well. Okay, shower and bed.”

            They did so, and Naruto saw them to bed while I got down to my underwear. In the mirror, my pecs were swollen and red, they tingled sharply when I tried to touch them.

            Naruto came in the bathroom and his eyes widened. “Oh wow Gaara, that looks painful. Do you want an ice pack?”

            I shook my head. “I’m sure that’ll just hurt it worse this time, they're too sore. Let’s just go to bed.”

            “Alright.”

            We got in bed and I pushed the covers down around my waist, leaving my chest free. Naruto rolled over so his head was tucked around my neck, and he placed his arm over my abdomen.

            He asked softly, “You’re not cheating on me, right Gaara?”

            I put my arm around his shoulders, holding him a little closer. “Definitely not cheating on you.”

            Naruto said, “I talked to Kiba, he said that Kankuro’s been sneaking around just like you, leaving and coming back without saying where he’s been.”

            I moved my hand off his shoulder to sink into his hair, and rustled it.

            “I can’t speak for Kankuro,” I said. “But I’m telling you I’m not cheating. You’re my wife, and you’re the only one I want. Don’t worry about it so much.”

            Naruto’s fingers pinched into my waist as he clenched down a little. “I just hate the secrecy Gaara. Why can’t you trust me?”

            I closed my eyes, and brushed my hand over his hair some more. “I trust you with my life Naruto. Just go to sleep, okay.”

            Naruto made a sound like he was biting his tongue but then said nothing. We laid in quiet for a long time, then Naruto eventually fell asleep. I stayed awake for a bit longer, then I too fell asleep.


	12. Toil and Trouble 3: Sasuke

_Sasuke Uchiha_

            I could hear the fuss going on in Tsubasa’s room, while I busied myself with putting on coffee and buttering several slices of toast. From the sounds of it, Tsubasa wanted to keep sleeping, and not get up to see the Academy results. The coffee ready, I poured my cup and drank it black while listening to what sounded like Neji trying to coax Tsubasa out of bed with cajoling and pampering.

            I sighed, rubbing my brow.

            _Hasn’t he learned that Tsubasa doesn’t respond to flattery or sweet talk? She’s too stubborn, the only thing she’ll respond to is either getting what she wants, or threats to take away her TV privileges._

            I set the table with the toast, I drank my second cup of coffee, and then went into Tsubasa’s room. Neji was kneeling by Tsubasa’s bed, shaking her shoulders and patting her back, while she kept her back to him, and the covers pulled over her head.

            “Neji,” I said. “Go and get breakfast, I set the table. I’ll get Tsubasa out of bed.”

            Neji stood up and looked at me with concerned lavender eyes. “Sasuke, we talked about this. I don’t want you to hit her.”

            I smiled grimly and just lifted my chin towards the door.

            He flinched but said to Tsubasa, “You see? If you had just gotten out bed earlier, you wouldn’t have to deal with Daddy.”

            He left and I touched his back on the way out, and he tossed me a nice smile over his shoulder. I paused to reflect on how things had come to this. Today is May 7th. I took part in Orochimaru’s experiment on April 13th, and Tsubasa was born later that same day. It turned out it was Neji Hyuga who had my child, we were married on April 16th. I didn’t react well to being forced into marriage with another dude, but somehow, over time, we both managed to find true feelings for each other. Unfortunately …we both failed as parents, and now Tsubasa was a complete disappointment.

            I rolled my shoulders, and cracked my neck, but stopped as pain lashed through my forehead. I winced and rubbed it for a second, then went to stand by Tsubasa’s bed.

            “Hey,” I said, looking down at the mound of covers. “It’s time to get out of bed. You’ve slept for eleven hours, that’s more than enough. Out of bed now.”

            Tsubasa said nothing, just yawned and pulled the covers tighter.

            My fists clenched but I wasn’t going to hit her, not like punch her or anything like that. I closed my eyes for a second, then grabbed the covers in both hands and yanked them off her, hard enough she tumbled out of bed and landed on the floor.

            “Ow!”

            “Ow is right.” I tossed the covers onto the bed, then grabbed her arm and lifted her up. “Now go to the bathroom, shower and get dressed. We’re going to the Academy to check the results.”

            Tsubasa rubbed her butt where she landed. Her brows, slim and black like Neji’s, furrowed. “But Daddy…I refused to take the exam.” She looked at the ground and bowed her head, but not before I saw the shame and regret on her pretty face. “So there’s no point in going.”

            “Don’t worry about it,” I said, gently turning her towards the doorway. “Go ahead and get ready, alright?”

            She nodded and went to the bathroom. I walked to the kitchen where Neji was cleaning out the coffee carafe.

            “She’s getting showered and dressed,” I said, rubbing my forehead as the headache persisted, like I had a rock lodged in my skull. “And no hitting necessary.”

            Neji smiled but then looked concerned. “What’s wrong Sasuke?”

            “Just a headache,” I said with a short sigh, taking a seat. “Woke up with it.”

            “Poor thing,” he said kindly.

            “I’m fine,” I said, then stood up as my bladder pinched. “I’m going to the bathroom. Check in on Tsubasa in case she needs help.”

            “Sir,” he said with a playful salute.

            I smiled for a second but as tension gripped my abdomen, I quickly raced to the bathroom in our bedroom, and used the toilet. I leaned against the sink counter as I washed my hands, my head felt too heavy for my neck.

            _Must be stress_ , I thought, drying my hands and going back to the kitchen. _Thanks to Tsubasa flunking her intelligence test, then she bombed the Academy Entrance Exam, not to mention the pressure Fugaku has been putting on me. Even Hiashi has been calling Neji more often as well._

            It took about an hour, but finally Tsubasa was dressed, she had her buttered toast and some green tea for breakfast, then we headed out to the Academy. Tsubasa walked with her head down, and while she was holding both of our hands while standing in between us, her grip was lax.

            The area around the Bulletin Board was crowded, Academy hopefuls pushing at each other in the front, with their parents standing behind them, and an Academy staff member trying to calm them down and get some order.

            “Her number is 26,” said Neji, looking over the board as we got closer. “Tsubasa, go up and check for your number.”

            She winced but then nodded with a sigh and eased her way into the crowd. I could see just how small she was, not just short in height, but she was slender and small-framed. I could understand why she was short, I was only five-eleven and Neji was five-seven, so it wasn’t like we had a lot of height to pass on, and both of our fathers weren’t tall either. Double the fact she was a girl, so I doubted Tsubasa would ever get much taller than five feet. 

            “Oi! Oi~”

            The long calls made me look around, and I saw that the rest of the MPS squad was showing up. Despite Tsubasa taking two hours overall to get out of bed and get ready, we were here first. We started the day at five am, so it was only eight-thirty am right now.

            That said, Gaara and Naruto both looked tired, while their twins were hopping around at their ankles. Kakashi was walking a lot slower than normal, and he had his arm around Iruka’s shoulder, who had his arm around Kakashi’s waist. While normally I’d think they were being affectionate, Kakashi’s knees looked too weak, and he was definitely leaning some of his weight on Iruka, not to mention his eye looked more heavy-lidded than normal. Hikaru had his mask up and his eyes were shining brightly behind the fringe of his gray hair.

            Asuma and Shikamaru walked together, Sora was riding Asuma’s shoulders with her hands sunk into his hair, she was slightly kicking her legs back and forth, while Asuma and Shikamaru were holding hands. Kiba and Kankuro were at the end of the pack with Akamaru at Kiba’s side, and Kankuro had his hand dug into Kana’s collar, who from the rapid movement of his legs, he was holding Kana back from running ahead.

            “Morning,” said Neji as everyone grouped together. “Ready to see the results?”

            “YES!” The children howled, and were released to rush up to the Bulletin Board.

            Neji slung his arm around my waist, and immediately my bladder clenched. I pulled away from him, muttering, “Bathroom,” and headed quickly to the public bathrooms that were by the backyard where the exams had taken place.

            I used the urinal and sighed, that had been close. Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk two cups of coffee, clearly it was making me need the bathroom too often. I washed and splashed some cold water onto my face as my headache throbbed again.

            I went back out and joined the group.

            Tsubasa was standing with Neji, her eyes wide and mouth dropped open in shock and surprise.

            I didn’t have to check the board, I already knew that Tsubasa had been granted special entry into the Academy. With the combined efforts of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, and the Council granting permission, the Academy Board of Education agreed to let Tsubasa join on conditional acceptance. Because she refused to take the exams, and there was no base leveling of her abilities, she has to take Remedial classes, which start earlier in the day before regular class and then Remedial classes at the end of the day after regular class dismisses, so her days start earlier and last longer than everyone else. If she had just taken the exam and not acted like a prima donna, then this wouldn’t be her situation.

            I came over, and loud jubilant cheering made me look away from my family.

            Hikaru and Kana clapped hands then did some sort of boogie, bumping hips, and shouted, “We’re in! We’re in! We’re in!”

            Mika and Sora hugged each other, laughing and cheering, and because Sora was bigger, Mika’s feet eventually left the ground and Sora swung her around in a circle, making Mika scream in laughter and sudden shock.

            Miki had his arms across his chest, and scuffing one sandal, but his face was wearing a perfect Naruto-esque huge grin, eyes curved, mouth spread from ear to ear. I couldn’t imagine pulling a smile that huge, it would break my face.

            Neji looked at me with concern. “Are you doing alright Sasuke? You keep needing the bathroom. Don’t get dehydrated, it won’t be good.”

            I laughed a little, realizing he thought I had diarrhea.

            I said, “No, I’m fine. So, did everyone get in?”

            “Seems like it,” said Shikamaru, who was standing by us. “I was a little worried about Sora, thanks to her destroying the obstacle course, and she wasn’t able to do taijutsu practice, but it seems like that was unfounded.”

            The girl in question, Sora, she tapped Asuma’s waist, getting his attention. “Daddy, what’s the ratio of women ANBU captains to male? What’s the percentage that I can become captain at my gender and my age?”

            Asuma lifted his chin to Kakashi, who had his head hung down low, and Iruka had both arms around his waist. The man looked like he was literally asleep standing up. “You should ask him. He graduated the academy at age five after only one year of training, then was promoted to Chunnin at age six, he was also personally assigned to the ANBU by Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Heck, you can talk to your own mother, Shikamaru became a Chunnin out of his entire class, the only one who passed the exam, as well as has an IQ over 200. If he wasn’t a lazy bas-um person, he could be Hokage if he wanted to.”

            Shikamaru gave his husband a wry look. “Thanks for editing your language. And I’d really rather not be Hokage, just not interested in working that type of job. Being a Chunnin is good enough for me.”

            Sora looked excited, her dark brown eyes brightened up. “Well, I’ll try to do those things too! I’ll break a record if I become a Chunnin at only a year old!”

            Now I was confused, and took another glance at all the happily conversing MPS children. The kids seemed pretty devastated at the news of their creation and birth, but they were all chill about it now. Then again, knowing these kids, they probably decided there was no point in being cut up about it because it was over and done with.

            What I was now concerned with is how the other students at the Academy would take to Tsubasa, and the other five. First, they were children who had two men for parents, made from an experiment, and aged from a baby to twelve years old in the space of under a month. I knew children could be more cruel than adults…these kids might be really excited about going to the Academy now but should they be turned against and bullied, that wouldn’t last.

            I looked at Tsubasa, who was getting encouraged by Sora to join the conversation.

            Sora asked, “What’s the first thing you want to do when we get to the Academy?”

            Tsubasa’s answer?

            “Take a nap.”

            Asuma leaned into me. “I think Tsubasa’s got some of Shikamaru’s genes in her.”

            I winced. “Ibiki diagnosed her as being extremely bored, while Shikamaru just has no ambition and is the epitome of laziness. Tsubasa just needs to be correctly challenged. I think the Academy will do that for her.”

            “Can I have your attention please? May I have some attention, over here, students and parents, listen up please.”

            The staff member who had been trying to keep the peace, was calling us, and then Iruka left Kakashi to stand by himself, to join with that staff member.

            “Some of you know me,” said Iruka, a wide smile on his face. “I’m Iruka Umino, and I’m the Chunnin instructor here at the Konoha Academy. Not everyone is here, but the teachers are myself, Suzume, and Daikoku. The Academy opening ceremony takes place tomorrow, this Friday, May 8th at exactly eight-am. However for those few of you who have Remedial courses, you need to be here at six-thirty, you’ll have your first remedial class, and when those classes end, you’ll attend the opening ceremony with everyone else. Regular classes start at eight-thirty am. You’ll be given your teacher, classroom number and courses tomorrow, so be on time to get that information. I’m very proud of all of you that you’ve made it this far, and I’ll see you at the opening ceremony. Oh, for those with remedial courses, your teacher is Daikoku, and he’ll meet you at the front of the Academy at six-thirty am, starting tomorrow. Alright, that’s it. Congrats to all of you.”

            “WHOO-HOO!”

            It was Kana and Hikaru who cheered so loudly, and quickly everyone else joined in, jumping up and down, fist-pumping, a few weird boogies. It was only Tsubasa who didn’t join in, her face was flushed red and she was staring at the ground, her fists clenched up.

            Sora quickly took Tsubasa’s hand and pulled her into the crowd of celebrating Academy students, and a small smile eventually appeared on Tsubasa’s face.

            Neji sighed but he looked relieved. “She’s embarrassed about the remedial courses. She’s the only one out of the MPS kids who had to be signed up for it.”

            I shook my head. “It was the conditional acceptance. This was her doing. Ack.”

            I pressed two fingers to each temple, the side of my head tensed like it was in between a machine vices, and was slowly painfully getting compressed.

            Neji gasped. “You still have a headache?”

            “Y-yeah,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And it’s just getting worse. I’m ready to go home Neji, if you guys want to go out to eat to celebrate, just go out without me this time, alright?”

            Neji nodded and leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “Alright. I’ll come home and see you later. Get some rest, because you have a meeting with the Uchiha clan later on today.”

            I cursed under my breath but I wasn’t mad at him. Yeah, I did have a meeting, and Neji was probably going to have one with his Hyuga clan at some time too.

            “See you later,” I said with a sigh, Neji bussed my cheek and I teleported home.

            I got in the house and my body alerted me that I once again had a full bladder, so I used the bathroom.

            _Damn coffee…this is ridiculous. Maybe I really did drink too much. Better cut down to one cup instead of two._

            I slumped down in bed but first set a timer on my phone. It was only nine am now, my meeting was at nine-forty-five. So I should only sleep about thirty minutes, give myself time to freshen up, then head out to get there on time.

            I closed my eyes and slept. For about five minutes, as the signal of needing the bathroom punctured my sleep. I groaned, but pulled myself up, used the bathroom, and laid down. I fell back asleep easily, but woke up in ten minutes to pee again. My measly thirty minute nap was ruthlessly interrupted by bathroom visits, until my alarm went off, and I had only had about maybe fifteen minutes of sleep all together.

            Yawning, and rubbing my head, I washed my face and brushed my teeth again, combed at my hair then put on a jacket with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back. Neji wasn’t back yet but I’d probably see him when I got home. I got in my red Mitsubishi Lancer, and drove to the compound.

            Yashiro and Inabi, both officers of Konoha Military Police Force, greeted me at the Uchiha parking lot. It only had five spaces, and they were all designated. My spot, Itachi’s black Mazda Rx7, Fugaku had a Honda Civic in white with the Uchiha clan symbol painted on the hood. The other two were Uchiha clan Toyota SUVs, meant for any Uchiha housewife for large-scale shopping trips, or taking a bunch of Uchiha children on trips, group-style. All the police cruisers had their own parking lot at the KMPF headquarters.

            “Nice to see you again Sasuke,” said Yashiro, inclining his head. “Come this way please.”

            I nodded back then winced as pain lashed from the crown of my head down my neck. Not to mention, my abdomen was clenching up that I needed to use the bathroom. This time I ignored it, and held it. The two walked me Fugaku’s main office in the compounds official building, rather than taking me to his office at his house. To me, this meant that this meeting was considered official business, on the record, and wasn’t going to be handled from father to son, but from the Clan Head to his subordinate.

            Yashiro knocked on the door.

            “Enter.”

            Yashiro opened it, saying, “Sasuke Uchiha here to see you sir.”

            “Come in Sasuke. You two are dismissed.”

            I walked in, the door closed behind me.

            The main office had a desk at the end, with two bookshelves, and a large bay window. There was a table with six seats, and Fugaku at the head.

            He motioned me to sit at the other end of the table, the farthest point from him.

            _Yup. He’s pulling all stops to show he’s the Clan Head. This isn’t going to be an easy meeting, not at all._

            I sat down. “So, Father, what’s this about?”

            “What else can it be about Sasuke?” He pulled a folder out of its case next to him, opening it up. I could see Tsubasa’s picture clipped to the top of it, plus her intelligence exam results, with all the x marks and the grade of 5% circled in red.

            I let out a short breath, rubbing the headache that now pulsed in between my eyes.

            “Father, that was-”

            He cut me off. “I’ve spoken to Ibiki about this, as he was the exam proctor. He certainly enlightened me on more than just the exam, but the behavior you and your Hyuga wife exhibited during so.”

            I clenched my teeth and breathed slowly again as my bladder once more squeezed. I just pressed my thighs together and held it.

            I said with forced calm, “Neji and I are still adjusting to this new time in our life and-”

            Fugaku once again cut me off. “It’s been almost a month, three weeks. I think that’s more than enough time to adjust. You two are constantly arguing and seen fighting in public, you were unfaithful to Neji in the beginning of the marriage, and Neji was seen spending time with single women. Tsubasa has absolutely no ambition or drive to succeed, which is a flagrant violation of the mindset of a proper Uchiha. Our clan had to work with the Hyuga clan to pull enough strings, to bend over _backwards_ to get this girl into the Academy. That’s unprecedented, unheard of, understand?”

            I closed my eyes tightly for a second, the headache like my eyes were going to get shoved out of my skull.

            “Sasuke, I demand a response.”

            I opened my eyes and looked at him, his eyes were focused hotly on me, and his face hardened like rock.

            I said quietly, “I know, Tsubasa isn’t exactly the famed Hyuiha we were all expecting, but she is young, and now that the Academy starts tomorrow, I think she’ll begin to get a taste of what working hard is like, and the respect she can earn, and the rewards of doing well.”

            “Isn’t exactly is a far understatement and _I think_ isn’t good enough,” said Fugaku, his voice like sharpened glass. “That said…there’s been a disagreement between our clan and the Hyuga clan that I’m not sure you’ve become aware of yet. I’m sure Neji should be meeting with the Hyuga Clan Head soon enough in order to divulge this information to him.”

            At this point, I could imagine my bladder had all red alert sirens blaring off. If I tried to hold this back another second, I would have an accident.

            I stood up abruptly.

            “I have to use the bathroom, be right back!”

            I rushed out and went to the public men’s room just down the hall. I barely made it in time, and ended up splashing a little outside of the urinal, but managed not to get my shoes. I sighed out and put one hand on the wall to hold me up as I leaned forward, trying to empty my bladder out completely.

            _You know…there’s no way that just drinking two cups of coffee did this to me. This is insane. But what else can cause such frequent urination like this? Hmm…I could have a urinary tract infection, so I should go see a doctor. Yeah, I’ll do that immediately after this._

            Done, I zipped up, washed my hands and went back to the meeting room.

            Fugaku looked up as I came in.

            I said, “Sorry about that.” I sat down with a soft sigh and said, “Okay, so what were you about to tell me?”

            Fugaku lowered his gaze for a moment, seemed like he was debating something, then he looked back at up and met my eyes.

            “The Hyuiha clan is no longer an option,” he said, and I sat up straight. “Right now, the Uchiha and the Hyuga are struggling over who should be properly training Tsubasa and what clan symbol she should be wearing. She’s an Academy student officially tomorrow, and she’s already shown that she is in dire need of training. Each clan wants Tsubasa in their clan wholly, and no longer believe in this farce of the Hyuiha clan.”

            “Holy shit,” I muttered, pushing my hand through my hair. “I certainly wasn’t expecting you to say that…you and Hideko Hyuga, you two seemed like-”

            Fugaku fucking again cut me off. “I told you, that is off the table. Hideko has let Hiashi take control of the situation, as he is Neji’s uncle, so it’s him I’ve been in contact with. He also has found more than enough proof that you and Neji are unsuited to take care of Tsubasa.”

            I put my hand over my mouth before I exploded at him, remembering what Neji said a while back about being purposefully provoked into looking like we were inept, and I saw Fugaku watching me incredibly closely. Imagining I was drinking cold water, and calming myself down, I spoke again.

            “Tsubasa is my daughter Father,” I said, looking at him coolly. “I totally understand having concerns for your granddaughter, of course that makes sense. But I believe taking her away from us, her parents, is a bad idea. You should remember that growing up I also was deemed a failure. I was nothing like Itachi, and I had to work twice as hard before I could even be considered the genius I am now. Tsubasa is clearly the same way. She’s starting off slow, that’s all. There’s no need to take her away from us.”

            Fugaku stood. “There is every need, but I concede your point. The Academy has just started, so I’ll give her time to clean up her act and start proving she is indeed an Uchiha worthy of being of my line. That said, we still have to deal with the Hyuga who want their clan symbol on her back. You can expect I will need proper updates from you and more meetings in the future. For now, you are dismissed.”

            I sighed and got up. I had more to say but Fugaku had dismissed me, and that meant anything else I said would be ignored.

            “Goodbye Father,” I said and I left.

            I headed to the parking lot and there was Itachi’s Mazda, however it wasn’t just him. He was helping Hinata Hyuga get out from the passenger seat.

            I rushed over then slowed down as my head panged. “Itachi? Hinata? What is this?”

            “Oh, Sasuke.” Hinata blushed and looked nervous, then bit her lip while she was smiling. “I guess Naruto never said anything.”

            I made a mental note to smack Naruto the next time I saw him, but no, it wasn’t about Naruto.

            I fixated a hard stare at Itachi, who just grinned lazily and looked relaxed.

            “Itachi! How come you didn’t tell me about this?”

            He chuckled and said, “I don’t have to tell you everything Sasuke. Besides, this is a rather new development, but it’s gotten serious faster than we thought. So I’m here to declare my intentions to Fugaku.”

            My eyes could have popped from my skull. “W-what? Declare _intentions_? But Itachi, Hinata is a Hyuga! And right now, not even Tsubasa is being accepted as Hyuiha, the super-clan was dissolved.”

            “I know,” said Itachi, his smile dropping. “However I don’t care about clans, I care about Hinata. Look, all of this is still off the records, not until I’ve talked to Fugaku, and Hinata hasn’t spoken to her father yet either. So keep this to yourself, well, you can tell Neji but make sure he stays quiet.”

            I nodded, stopped when it hurt then said, “Alright. Well, Itachi, Hinata, I am happy for you. Just want you to know this won’t be easy but,” a smile came over my face. “I do take complete responsibility for you two getting together. Neji too.”

            Hinata laughed and pushed her hand against her pinking cheek. “Well, yes. I was upset and embarrassed when you said about me being in a stand-in for your wedding night but Itachi…”

            She looked up at him, and I saw all the tenderness in her gaze, and Itachi looked back with that same amount of care and affection.

            Itachi liked to laugh and tease me, and when it came to women, he certainly had his share, but this was the first time I had seen him look so serious before.

            I said, “Good luck you two. I’ll see you guys later.”

            They said goodbye, and wished me luck as well, then I headed back home.

            I got in the house, and Tsubasa was laying on the floor in the living room, watching TV.

            Neji came up to me. “Good, you’re back just in time. I have to see my uncle Hiashi right away, I’ll be back later. Look out for Tsubasa would you?”

            “Yeah,” I said. I didn’t bother telling him what Fugaku had told me, Hiashi was sure to tell Neji right now. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

            Neji dropped a kiss on Tsubasa’s forehead then gave me a peck before leaving. I saw that a Hyuga company Nissan sedan had pulled up, so it looked like Neji was getting escorted to his compound.

            I waited at the door until the car had disappeared, closed it and went to the bathroom. Then I came back and switched off the TV.

            “HEY!” Tsubasa leapt to her feet, so fast and with her face already turning red.

            I stood in front of the TV, arms crossed. “You remember that I banned you from television during your intelligence exam, or did you forget?”

            Tsubasa protested angrily, “But I’m in the Academy now, so it doesn’t matter!”

            “It matters even more now,” I shot back, then pressed a hand to my forehead as my head squeezed. I gritted out, “You have to take remedial classes, and be up earlier and stay in school longer than everyone else. That means you need to be spending your time studying, not watching TV.”

            Tsubasa stared at me. “What’s wrong Daddy? Why do you keep holding your head?”

            I sighed and sat down on the couch, my eyes cinching as the constant pain didn’t let up a little.

            “It’s just stress darling, that’s all.” I leaned my head back on the couch back, looking up at the ceiling.

            Tsubasa crawled over to kneel by me, and put one hand on my leg. “Stress…what’s that?”

            “It means I’ve got a lot to think about,” I said, looking down at her smooth face. With her wide lavender eyes, shiny black hair and her feminine looks, my daughter was beautiful and that should only enhance with age. But would I be able to be there? If my father or Hiashi got their way, Tsubasa would be taken from me, from Neji, and raised to be an unstoppable powerful kunoichi. She wouldn’t be allowed to watch Blue’s Clues or Sesame Street ever again, or get carried to bed, or be handfed or get her hair combed and washed.

            And if Tsubasa is taken away…what point would there be in being married to Neji? We were only married for her. If my clan or the Hyuga clan give the Fourth Hokage enough evidence citing us as unfit parents, and Minato dissolves our marriage, and Tsubasa is raised by either Fugaku or Hiashi…then my relationship with Neji would be over.

            Tsubasa gasped, and grasped my shirt in two small fists. “Daddy, why are you crying? Don’t cry Daddy! Please, stop crying!”

            I blinked several times, aware of the wet path of two tears streaking down from each eye. Tsubasa burst into tears, and pushed her face against my thighs.

            “I’m sorry Daddy!” She was sobbing, and my arms laid around her back, gently patting her. “I’m sorry I caused you stress! I’m sorry I’m making you cry! I’ll do better, I promise! I’ll get out of bed on time! I’ll work hard! I won’t watch TV ever again!”

            “Ah, Tsubasa, hush now.” I bent over to pull her up into my lap, and hugged her close. She wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed, still crying. “You’re not causing me stress, and honestly I’m not sure why I started crying. You should do better, but do it from a right place. Do better because you know you need to do better, and you want to _be_ better. As for the TV, we just need to cut it down to only one weekends, like Saturday and Sunday afternoons will be your TV days. As for the rest of the week, you should focus on your studies. Now you should stop crying, before you make yourself sick.”

            It took a few more minutes of calming her down, but eventually Tsubasa stopped crying, and I made her some hot chocolate, and let her watch TV while she drank it. I laid on the couch, with my head in my folded arms, wishing to whatever Kami that was out there that my headache would stop. I couldn’t sleep with the pain, and I still had to get up every ten to fifteen minutes to use the bathroom, even though I hadn’t drunk anything since two cups of coffee this morning.

            Tsubasa told me she was hungry, and even though it was Neji who made the meals, he wasn’t back yet. I knew Hiashi could get long-winded, and honestly so could Neji, so I didn’t doubt that’s why his meeting was so much longer than mine, as Fugaku preferred to get straight to the point, same as me.

            I went in the kitchen, the pantry and fridge was fully stocked.

            “What do you want to eat Tsubasa?”

            She gave me a sweet smile. “Whatever my Daddy makes, I’ll eat it.”

            My chest warmed, and I gazed at her then said softly, “Okay. I’ll do my best to make something delicious.”

            “Mm hmm!”

            I ended up making katsudon, deep-fried pork and eggs cooked in a sweet and salty broth and placed over rice in a bowl. I covered Neji’s with plastic wrap, and put it in the microwave to wait for him. We ate, while Tsubasa asked me what the Academy was like.

            Lunch finished, I did the dishes and Tsubasa dried and put them away. I was really moved by how she made a decision to change, and then immediately implemented it. Tsubasa was bored without stimulation, that was all. Seeing me stressed and crying, that was enough incentive for her to fix her attitude. Not to mention her shame for needing remedial classes, she was going to work hard now.

            Tsubasa said, “Daddy, can we go to the library? I should start practicing reading and writing.”

            “Yeah, sure,” I said.

            Then I remembered I wanted to go to the doctor about my possible urinary tract infection. However Tsubasa was worried enough about me, and I didn’t have anyone who could babysit her right now.

            _I’ll just go later._

            “Shoes on, let’s go,” I said with a smile.

            “Yay!”

            Tsubasa and I got on our shoes, and I decided to walk rather than drive. Tsubasa held my hand tighter than she had this morning, and she chatted with me about her favorite TV shows and her favorite characters. It was nice to hear her like this, not whining or complaining or screaming. Just being a sweet gentle girl. This made me think she was really more like Neji than like me, especially when Neij was younger. Before Neji’s father died, Neji had been just like this, small, cute, polite. Not to mention she looked just like him more feminine.

            We got to the library, and immediately saw Sora and Shikamaru, along with Iruka and Hikaru.

            “Tsubasa!” Sora called the smaller girl’s name and rushed over. “Hey girl!”

            Tsubasa smiled, perking up. “Hi Sora!”

            Sora blinked, looking shocked. “Wha…what…hey, did something really good happen to you?”

            Tsubasa flushed, and adjusted one of the pins in her hair. She said softly, “Well…I just turned over a new leaf!” Sounding more confident, she looked at Sora in the eyes. “I’m not going to be the same person. I’ll be better than you Sora!”

            Sora laughed heartily and clapped her hands together several times. “Yes! Now I have a rival! Me and you Tsubasa! Come on, you want to read with me?”

            “Yes please.”

            Tsubasa dropped my hand and went with Sora, then Hikaru joined them.

            I walked over to talk with Shikamaru and Iruka.

            Iruka gave me a large grin. “Well, well, what did you say to Tsubasa? She’s entirely different.”

            I rubbed the back of my neck. Honestly, I didn’t want to tell them that I had cried.

            I said, “Tsubasa and I talked about it, and she decided she wanted to do better. I didn’t argue with her or hit her, she decided it on her own.”

            Shikamaru smiled and loosely crossed his arms over his abdomen. “Whatever you said, it worked. I haven’t seen Tsubasa smile like that or talk so animatedly before. And then she even declared Sora her rival, that I totally didn’t expect.”

            I said, “Well, Tsubasa is of Uchiha and Hyuga descent, so now that she’s going to put her mind to it, she’ll finally be a genius prodigy like her parents.”

            My bladder pulled and I said, “Excuse me.”

            I went to the bathroom and came back. Shikamaru and Iruka were sitting at the table with the children, which was spread with books on reading, writing and even some arithmetic.

            I sat next to Tsubasa, and she was staring at a book on long division. She looked up at me with widened distressed eyes.

            “Daddy,” she said in a shaking voice. “This is hard.”

            “Of course it is,” I said with a nod. “You’ve never seen it before, and you haven’t even learned to add or subtract yet. You need the basics before you can start on that. Don’t worry about it too much, you start the Academy tomorrow. Just give it a few weeks, and this will be easy.”

            Tsubasa brightened up then frowned as I rubbed my eyebrow. “Daddy?”

            “Just a headache, that’s all Tsubasa.” I waved her concern away then said, “Come on, show me how well you can read.”

            She nodded and pulled a children’s book to her. I spent the afternoon with Iruka, Shikamaru and their children, until it was getting kinda late, so we checked out some books and went home. The house was dark, meaning Neji wasn’t back yet.

            I frowned and even though I knew he was just with Hiashi, I was kind of worried. How long did a simple meeting need to go on for? It had already been like four hours.

            “Let’s have dinner,” I said, going to the kitchen. I moved Neji’s lunch from the microwave into the fridge. “Anything you want in particular Tsubasa?”

            “Nuh uh,” she said, sitting down at the table and taking out some of her books. “Daddy, where’s Mommy? I haven’t seen her since earlier.”

            I paused then looked at her. “Tsubasa babe, you know Neji is a man, right?”

            She flinched then murmured, “I just…I just rather…”

            “I know,” I said. “Neji is fine that you call him Mommy, he’s glad that he’s your mother. But still, it’s important to use proper pronouns.”

            “Yes sir,” she said softly.

            Because we ate pretty heavy for lunch, dinner I made a salad, rice and tofu. We ate quietly, and Tsubasa kept throwing glances at me each time I couldn’t help but wince or rub my head. I also got up multiple times to use the bathroom.

            I said, “I’ll clean up, you take a bath and get ready for bed.”

            “Daddy,” she said as she stood up. “Are you sick?”

            _Damn, she’s observant._

            “I’m not sick,” I said. “It’s just a headache. Go on now. Don’t make me repeat myself, okay?”

            “Yes sir.” She threw me another worried look but left.

            I packed up the leftovers in Tupperware, and cleaned up. Then I called the Hyuga compound. It was going on eight o’clock at night and I wanted my wife back.

            It picked up. “Tokuma Hyuga speaking, how may I help you?”

            “Tokuma, where is Neji?” I spoke firmly, even as I was clenching my thighs together to hold back another necessary bathroom visit.

            “He’s in a meeting with the Clan Head sir,” said Tokuma.

            “Tell him he has to come home now,” I said.

            “I can’t-”

            I cut him off. “Let me rephrase Tokuma. You either tell Neji he needs to come home now, or I’ll show up there personally and take him home. Got that?”

            Tokuma breathed quietly then said, “Understood Uchiha. I’ll inform the Clan Head that Neji’s husband is requesting he return. Shall I come back on the line to inform you?”

            “I’ll hang up,” I said. “But I’ll come in there if Neji’s not home in five minutes.”

            “Yes sir.”

            I hung up and hurried to the bathroom. I came out and sat on the couch, waiting. After a few minutes, the door opened and Neji stumbled in. He looked exhausted, pits dug out on the bottom of his eyes, and he had obvious tear streaks on his face.

            “Neji!”

            I went to him, and he fell into my arms. I hugged him close and brushed at his tousled hair, like he had been pulling it.

            “Are you okay?” I asked softly.

            “Hiashi…” he whispered. “He wants to take Tsubasa away from us…and he’s dissolved the Hyuiha clan.”

            “Yeah I know,” I said. “Fugaku told me earlier.”

            Neji’s legs were weakening, so I shifted him into my arms bridal style, and carried him to bed. I laid him down and asked, leaning over him with my hand on his forehead, “Do you want to eat anything? You’ve been gone for hours.”

            Neji shook his head. “No, I can’t eat anything. I’m too upset. Where is Tsubasa?”

            “Probably in bed by now,” I said, standing up. “You get under the covers Neji, I’ll check on her.”

            “Okay.”

            I went to Tsubasa’s room, and she wasn’t in bed. Though she was wearing a pearly pink nightgown, she was sitting at her desk, pouring over the books from the library.

            I smiled with a relieved sigh. Then I said, “Tsubasa, it’s bed time. You have remedial classes at six-thirty, so you should be waking up at five am, or even four-thirty if you’ll need more time to get ready. Close up the books, and get in bed.”

            She got up and went to the bed, so I came over and tucked her in.

            She asked, “Did I hear Mommy come home?”

            I nodded. “Yeah, he’s back. He’s really tired, so you’ll see him in the morning. Don’t you worry too much, just get some rest, alright?”

            She nodded and closed her eyes.

            I kissed her cheek and said, “Goodnight Tsubasa. I love you.”

            “Night Daddy. Love you too.”

            I kissed her forehead this time and I left, making sure to put on her nightlight before turning off the overhead light. I went back to my bedroom, and Neji was under the covers, with his clothes in a pile on the floor. It wasn’t like Neji to leave his clothes on the floor, even his headband was on the floor, so I knew just how exhausted he was.

            I put his clothes in the laundry bin, and put his headband on the dresser top. I used the bathroom again, then got in bed. Neji rolled over and scooted over to me, so I cuddled him and kissed his forehead.

            Neji sniffled, and his tears rolled down my neck.

            “Tsubasa’s our daughter,” he whispered, his voice choked. “She’s ours.”

            “Yes she is,” I said, stroking his hair down his back.

            “I won’t let him,” he whispered, sniffling again. “I won’t let him take her away.”

            “Fugaku nor Hiashi are getting their hands on Tsubasa,” I said, kissing his forehead again. “It’s late, so get some sleep. We can deal with this more in the morning.”

            Neji nodded and relaxed against me.

            I didn’t sleep well. I managed to doze off, but if it wasn’t my headache that woke me up, it was the need for the bathroom. I woke Neji up each time I left the bed, so in the end he didn’t sleep well either. Our five am alarm went off, and we had already been awake because I had just used the bathroom.

            “No coffee this morning Sasuke,” said Neji in a numb voice, sitting up and turning off the stringent alarm.

            “Definitely not,” I said, squeezing my hands over the back of my head. “My Kami, if this headache doesn’t fucking _stop_ already.”

            “Go to Lady Tsunade,” instructed Neji. “Your headache has been lasting for hours. And you shouldn’t have to use the bathroom that many times either. I’ll take Tsubasa to the Academy, you get a doctor’s appointment.”

            I shook my head. “No, I want to see her off too. You should take a shower and I’ll make breakfast.”

            Neji said softly, “Can we shower together Sasuke?”

            There was no way to refuse that weakened voice, and his lavender eyes looked like pools of pain.

            “Sure baby,” I said, taking his hand.

            We went into the shower together, and Neji stepped into my arms, hugging me as the warm water seeped over our heads.

            “I’ve never hated Hiashi like this before,” he admitted to me, squeezing me close. “His words, how cold and detached he looked, how he just kept insisting that I was an unfit parent. He had documentation, files, pictures, he’s been watching us Sasuke.”

            “Yeah,” I said. “Fugaku was just the same. He’s even talked to Ibiki about us.”

            Neji snorted. “Hiashi had an audio recording of our exam.”

            My fists clenched against Neji’s lower back. “Damn him.”

            “Exactly.” Neji shook his head, and pressed his face into my chest. “I just…I love Tsubasa so much. I was scared while the experiment was happening, but once she was born, and I saw her face, and I named her, she was everything to me. The reason she is so spoiled is because I loved her too much to want to do anything but everything she wanted. It’s my fault she’s the way she is.”

            I smiled and told him what happened with the turning over of Tsubasa’s leaf, I even told him that I had cried.

            Neji lifted his face up, staring at me. “W-w-what? Tsubasa did that?”

            I nodded. “She decided she was going to change because she didn’t want to be the cause of my stress. We went to the library to study, and she was studying last night when you came home. Remember Ibiki said she was bored. Now that she’s put her mind to working hard, she’s changing her ways. She has ambition now, and since she’s declared Sora as her rival, she has drive too.”

            Neji perked up. “Then, we just have to tell this to Hiashi, and he’ll back off!”

            I said, “I told Fugaku that Tsubasa was just starting off slow, and he only said he conceded my point. So now that we can tell them that Tsubasa is going to work hard, you’re right, they’ll leave her alone.”

            Neji smiled and we bathed, then I had to use the bathroom.

            Neji said, “Wait, you don’t have diarrhea?”

            I chuckled and finished up. “No, I’ve been peeing this entire time. Oh, so after we drop Tsubasa off, I’ll go to the doctor. I probably have some kind of urinary tract infection.”

            Neji looked horrified. “Oh Great Kami, really? But…” his brows furrowed. “Does it burn when you pee?”

            I shook my head. “No, but I’m still going way too much.”

            I washed my hands and Neji and I got dressed. Neji went to see Tsubasa to get ready for school, while I made breakfast. Because she had school now, I knew she’d need more than toast. So I made rice, sausages and rolled omelet.

            At six am, Tsubasa and Neji came into the kitchen. Neji was carrying Tsubasa knapsack, and adjusting the notebooks and primers inside.

            “Eat Tsubasa,” I said, gesturing her to her seat. “I made you a good breakfast so you’ll have a lot of strength. Your days last longer than a nine-to-five, so you got to stay focused.”

            “Let make you a few sandwiches so you don’t get hungry during classes,” said Neji, putting down the knapsack.

            “I’ll help.”

            I got out the white bread, sweet cream, mayo, mustard and onions, while Neji gathered strawberries, kiwis, canned tuna, and eggs. Together, while Tsubasa ate, we made egg, tuna and fruit sandwiches. Neji packed it up and wrapped it into Tsubasa’s bag.

            “It’s six-twenty,” I said. “We need to go or we’ll be late. From now on you should wake up at four-thirty Tsubasa, it takes you too long to get ready.”

            Tsubasa nodded and got up. “Yes sir.”

            We left the house and rushed to the Academy. We got there at six-thirty on the dot, and Daikoku was outside with only two other children and parents with him.

            “Ah, there you are.” He smiled. “We were waiting for you. So, now you’re all here. Daichi, Nobori and Tsubasa, you three are a part of the Remedial Class. This means at the Academy Entrance Exam, you fell a little short but not enough to be rejected. Now, first off this class doesn’t last forever, it only lasts as long as you need it. Once myself and your main instructor decide that you’ve gotten up to speed, you’ll be removed from the Remedial Class, and only have to take part in regular classes. We clear so far?”

            “Yes sir,” said the three.

            Tsubasa was standing in between us, but she wasn’t holding our hands. Her hands were curled into fists but she didn’t look angry or embarrassed, she just looked determined. I met eyes with Neji over her head, and we smiled at each other.

            Daikoku said, “Alright, I think that’s good enough of an explanation for now. Parents, any questions?”

            No one had any questions, and we said goodbye to our children.

            Neji kissed Tsubasa’s cheeks, and said, “Be a good girl Tsubasa. And no napping, not even once. You pay attention the entire time.”

            “Yes Mommy,” she said.

            I said, “We’ll be back at eight-thirty for the opening ceremony. So I’ll see you in a few hours, okay?”

            Tsubasa looked at me with aching lavender eyes. “Please go to the doctor Daddy, for me, please?”

            I smiled and kissed her forehead. “Yes ma’am. Now go on, hurry on.”

            She hugged me around the neck, hugged Neji then dashed into the school building where Daikoku was waiting.

            “To the doctor now Sasuke,” said Neji, taking my hand.

            I winced and said, “Bathroom first.”

            Neji let me go and I went to the bathroom, then we headed to the Konoha Hospital. Neji signed me in at the desk while I had to use the bathroom again. We waited for about twenty minutes, during which I used the bathroom once more, until Shizune called us to the back.

            “So what’s going on Sasuke?” She asked once we were in the examination room.

            “I’ve got a constant headache,” I said, rubbing my temple as I said it and Neji ushered me to sit on the examination table. “And I’m also constantly using the bathroom.”

            She hummed. “Really? Have you been under any stress lately?”

            We both nodded.

            “Well that’s why,” she said with an easy shrug. “Stress causes headaches, and anxiety and stress are both common causes of frequent urination. If you don’t have any other symptoms, such as burning when you pee, or blood in the urine, then stress is my diagnosis.”

            I sighed and stood up. “There you have it then. Still, do you have anything you can prescribe me? Honestly this is really irritating, and I can hardly sleep or even work like this.”

            “There’s over the counter medicine you can get at any convenience store,” she said. “Try something like Confident Bladder Control for the frequent urination. As for the headache, just get some Tylenol. There’s really nothing else I can do. The best thing besides the meds is to stop being stressed. Whatever’s going on, fix it up. Maybe try yoga or meditation to calm yourself. Remember, stress can cause ulcers and other serious health problems, so try and nip it in the bud.”

            “Thank you Shizune,” said Neji, and I also thanked her, then we left.

            We went to the convenience store and found exactly what Shizune had mentioned, so we bought some, and I immediately took two of each once we were home. Then we both went back to sleep, and I finally slept through the entire two hours before our eight am alarm went off. We got up, freshened up, and ate a small breakfast before heading to the Academy.

            It was crowded with people, not just students and parents, but extended family members, so I saw elderly people like grandparents and much younger children who had to be siblings or cousins.

            We met up with the rest of the MPS squad, who were with their family as well. Minato and his wife Kushina was there with Naruto and Gaara, Temari was there along with Kankuro, Kiba, and his parents Tsume and Katuza, and his older sister Hana. Kakashi and Iruka were there as well.

            Asuma and Shikamaru with Yoshino, Shikaku and several other male Nara’s I didn’t know, but I could tell something was wrong. The other Nara’s were tall and muscular, and had a lot of kunai and shuriken on them, like they were ready for war. They all had these intense looks on their faces, and were staring down Asuma. Shikamaru was standing directly in front of Asuma in a protective stance. I didn’t see Hiruzen, which was strange because he’s been here from the start.

            We walked over to join everyone, then I saw Hiashi and a few other Hyugas arriving, the same time Fugaku, Mikoto and several Uchiha top brass. Neji clenched his hand around mine hard enough it hurt and I held him back just as tightly.

            Some horns tutted, gathering everyone’s attention. The Uchiha’s who had arrived stood at my side, while Neji’s Hyuga clan stood at his. It was a clear diving line, and the two clan heads didn’t even look at each other. The celebration that had occurred when Tsubasa was born had been killed, and there was no longer any Hyuiha super-clan. Right now, there was Tsubasa Hyuga-Uchiha, and both clans wanted her for themselves.

            In front of the Academy was a small wooden stage that had been set up, with an arch over it, with a banner reading WELCOME STUDENTS hanging from it.

            All the students were in front of the stage, while the attending family members were behind them. I couldn’t see Tsubasa at all because of how small she was and everyone else was bigger, blocking my view, but I knew she was there. And there was Hiruzen, stepping onto the stage.

            “I am Hiruzen Sarutobi,” he said, with a warm smile. “I’m the Third Hokage and I welcome you all to join Konoha’s Academy. Today, you are no longer just villagers. Today, you are no longer even just children. Today, you start your journey as a shinobi or a kunoichi. You stand here because you passed the Academy Entrance Exam. You stand here because you’ve worked hard, you’ve set a goal for yourself and this is where you want to be. Maybe there is someone you want to protect, your family, your friends, your village. Maybe there is a position in life you desire, to become a powerful ninja, to become an Anbu captain, or even become Hokage.”

            “All of these are masterful important goals and desires, and they’re all worthy of praise and dedication. Now that your education has started, you must work hard. Focus! When you fall down, get back up. When you get a bad grade, study three times as hard. Do what you must to learn all the skills required to be a Konohaian shinobi, earn your headband to wear the mark of the Leaf proudly. If you believe it, you can achieve it. So I say once again, welcome to the Academy!”

            All the students cheered, and Neji and I clapped, along with everyone else. Several people weren’t clapping. My clan, Neji’s clan, and the Nara’s. Asuma and Shikamaru were clapping, and so did Yoshino, but Shikaku and those others he had with him, they were just giving Asuma a deathly cold furious glare.

            Hiruzen left the stage, and there was another speech by a student who had gotten the top score at the Academy Entrance Exam, I didn’t know who the boy was. Then all the students received their class schedules, and the ceremony ended after that. Neji and I went forward to find Tsubasa. Like specters, the Uchihas and the Hyugas followed us. This day that should make me so proud and happy, I only felt dread. And for that, I hated them.

            We found Tsubasa with the MPS kids and several other children, who were all standing by Iruka and their parents or family. Then I saw crowds of other children, each by another Academy instructor.

            Iruka smiled to see us joining them, along with everyone else. “So, now you know. I’ll be their sensei.”

            “Yeah!” Hikaru pumped his fist. “Mom is gonna be my sensei!”

            Iruka patted his head. “Make sure you call me Umino-sensei when we’re in class, alright?”

            “Yes sir!” Hikaru saluted him, looking excited.

            “Oh Umino-sensei!” Sora’s eyes sparkled like chocolate diamonds. “What’s the first thing we’re gonna learn?”

            Iruka smiled and addressed all of the family and students.

            “Today will be a little different, as it’s the first day of class, but I want you all to be assured that starting Monday, we’ll get right into the meat of things. That includes topics such as the history of Konoha and the shinobi world in general, such as the Warring States Period and the three Shinobi World Wars. We’ll discuss the Shinobi Handbook and the beginnings of chakra control. Taijutsu and ninjutsus lessons won’t begin until sometime next week, but we’ll touch on genjutsu today. Now it is time for school to start, so unless anyone has any questions, we’ll just go on in.”

            One of the Hyuga representatives raised his hand, and he had a clipboard with him, his pen poised to take notes. “What about kekkei genkai’s? Do you have any plans on awakening those?”

            “Same,” asked Fugaku stiffly.

            My fists clenched, and Neji and I caught eyes. _Those bastards._

            Iruka looked concerned and upset before he smiled. “Ah, kekkei genkai’s are a particular case. Seeing as those are quite rare, and they awaken naturally within only certain students, that’s not really a subject we can actually teach here. In my experience, once a kekkei genkai is activated, it is up to that student’s particular clan to guide them on how to use their abilities.”

            That seemed to flip some sort of switch. The Hyuga’s and the Uchiha’s immediately turned on each other, arguing about whether or not Tsubasa had the Sharingan or the Byakugan, and wanting her to be _their_ clan’s kunoichi.

            Iruka didn’t waste anytime, but got all the children inside of the school, and I didn’t even get to say goodbye to Tsubasa, though I saw her looking at us with scared eyes.

            I sighed and wanted to leave, but then I saw it wasn’t just us that the other clans were harassing. Asuma, Shikamaru and the Nara’s were obviously all arguing, while there was an Uchiha talking to Kakashi, and even had one hand tight around his arm, not letting him leave.

            Fugaku grabbed my arm and yanked me towards him, then presented me at the Hyuga’s. “My son is top of the line! He is a genius of the Uchiha, and his blood runs in Tsubasa’s veins. I’ve already seen her eyes turn Sharingan red, it’s without a doubt it’s the Sharingan she’s inherited and she must be an Uchiha, _not_ a Hyuga.”

            Neji tried to take my hand again but Hiashi grabbed him away from me and jerked him to his side. “No, it is my nephew Neji who is the genius, not even, he is a prodigy and truly excels as a Hyuga clansman. That said, Tsubasa has _clearly_ shown aptitude for the Byakugan on several occasions! There is no question that Tsubasa is a natural Hyuga, _not_ an Uchiha!”

            There was a scream.

            “Shikaku, NO!”

            “Dad, stop!”

            I looked over to see that Shikaku had attacked Asuma physically, but not just Shikaku, the other three Naras were fighting him too, while Shikamaru leapt to try and rescue Asuma from them, even Hiruzen’s old self was struggling against shinobi decades younger than him in an effort to protect his son. Luckily Minato was there, and he broke it up immediately.

            He said, “Hiruzen and Asuma, I need you to leave for the moment please. Shikamaru, and your clan, come with me to my office. And you Hyugas and Uchihas.” He looked at us. “Take this argument elsewhere, not on Academy grounds.”

            “Get off me!” Kakashi jerked his arm out of the Uchiha’s hold. “I’ve told you, Hikaru hasn’t shown any capability with the Sharingan, not to mention, he probably can’t inherit it from me in the first place! So stop calling my house and don’t come by me or my son again!”

            Then he signed with his fingers and disappeared.

            Fugaku didn’t let go of me. “You’re coming with me Sasuke. We need to talk.”

            Hiashi also kept a tight hold on Neji. “And Neji, you’re staying with me as well.”

            I found myself forced into another meeting with Fugaku but also with top brass Uchihas, such as Shisui Uchiha, who was an Anbu and if it wasn’t for Itachi, he would be the genius of the clan, and he was probably better than me if I ever let myself think that way. Naori Uchiha, who was known within the clan for her kenjutsu skills and the fact she had the Mangekyō Sharingan. Itachi Uchiha, my older brother, was also there, though he looked upset and his eyes were already red, which wasn’t like him. However I knew he was in a relationship with Hinata, so if he tried to have a baby with her, he was essentially in the same predicament as I was with Neji right now.

            _Neji…he was so exhausted when he came home yesterday. Shaking, crying, defeated. Because of our clan’s fighting, we couldn’t even enjoy Tsubasa’s opening ceremony. Is this going to tear us apart? If the Hyuga clan succeeds in taking away Tsubasa, they’ll also take Neji away. But that doesn’t mean I want Tsubasa taken away from us by the Uchiha clan either. I know my father, he wants results, that’s it. He’ll break Tsubasa, he wants to traumatize her to forcibly awaken her kekkei genkai. He doesn’t even see her as a grandchild, but as a weapon for the Uchiha clan, to strengthen us._

            The meeting started. Fugaku, Naori and Shisui drilled me with questions about Tsubasa, and while Itachi tried to defend me, he ended up getting demanded for answers as well, and highly invasive questions about Hinata. When I got involved to defend him, then I was back in the hot seat. With this amount of stress, my headache returned, as did my constant need for the bathroom. To make sure I didn’t leave, Fugaku ordered Shisui to accompany me to the bathroom each time, so it was like I was actually a prisoner.

            In the end, Fugaku ordered me to bring Tsubasa to the Uchiha compound every weekend for extra training, and I wasn’t allowed to refuse. By that time, it was well past dinner time and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

            Finally dismissed, I lurched out of the meeting room like a zombie. Itachi came with me and put his arm around my waist. I leaned on him, saying nothing, just focusing on breathing through the pounding in my skull.

            We found a quiet room and sat down together on a couch. I rested my elbows on my thighs and leaned forward, putting my head in my hands.

            Itachi sighed and spoke first. “I get what Fugaku wants,” he said. “He wants his bloodline to stay pure, within the Uchiha clan. Yet he also wants the power of the Hyuga clan. Tsubasa…and any child I have with Hinata, they will give him that. If Tsubasa and my future children have both the Sharingan and the Byakugan, able to effortlessly switch between both dōjutsus, or even have one Sharingan and one Byakugan per eye, using them both at the same time, that’s…the advantage they will have on the battlefield is-”

            I said, “They can be unstoppable, with the proper training. Able to use the Sharingan to copy an opponents abilities, and also able to use the Byakugan to see directly into the opponent’s bodies, shutting down their chakra points. And there’s so much more that both the Sharingan and the Byakugan can be used for. A person able to use both is an immense addition to a clan. I get it too Itachi but…”

            I stared at the floor, and only saw Tsubasa’s sweet smile, how happy she looked, and how she had decided to change for the better.

            I said, “Fugaku will break her Itachi. He almost broke me. When I wasn’t doing too well, and you were better than me, he pushed me to the brink. I damn near went insane, until I finally made friends with Naruto instead of viewing him as my rival, and we became close, then I got closer with you as well. I just don’t want to see that happen with Tsubasa. Or your future kids Itachi.”

            Itachi sighed. “Well I won’t be having kids anytime soon. Hiashi has rejected my request to marry Hinata, and while Fugaku accepted my intentions, he only cares about making sure the children will be Uchihas, and he’s already staking claims on them.”

            Itachi’s fists clenched. “Like our children are just bargaining chips, things to fight over, and not real people.”

            “Yeah,” I said softly and winced as my bladder pulled once again. I placed my hand on my abdomen as I got a little nauseous. “Look, I’ve got to go home. Tsubasa should be home from the Academy any moment now.”

            “Right.”

            Itachi stood up and held my elbow to help me up. He put a hand on my shoulder, and waited for me to look at him.

            “We’re in this together Sasuke,” he said, his face grave yet encouraging. “So I don’t want you going to any meetings with Fugaku without me. Call me or text me right away, and I’ll sit in on the proceedings. I also want you to keep a closer eye on Tsubasa. With the way our clan is acting, I wouldn’t put them past kidnapping.”

            I stared at him. “Kid-kidnapping? How can they kidnap Tsubasa? She’s our daughter!”

            “I know, I know Sasuke just try to understand.” He squeezed my shoulder. “The Hyugas and the Uchihas are fighting over her. They both want her, and they’ll do anything to get her. So far the arguing is happening in double clan personnel meetings or on paper, but no one has dragged the Fourth Hokage into it yet. That means they’re still trying to settle this between themselves. However I think we can both see this is a stalemate, there’s no way that they’ll agree on the opposite clan getting Tsubasa. In the end, that leaves them with one option.”

            My eyes widened. “Taking Tsubasa by force.”

            Itachi nodded. “Exactly. Go and get her Sasuke. I need to see Hinata and I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”

            “Thanks Itachi.” I clasped his hand over my shoulder, he squeezed back and let me go.

            I teleported to the Academy, it was mostly dark besides one bright room. I entered the building and went up. I knocked on the door and opened it.

            Inside was Daikoku, and the three Academy Remedial students, Daichi, Nobori and Tsubasa. They were all writing at their desks, and none took notice of me. Daikoku looked up, blinking.

            I motioned to him, and he came out into the hallway.

            I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms and asked, “What time does Remedial class get out in the evening?”

            Daikoku said, “When we’re done with lessons, every day will end with an essay about what we’ve learned. I grade it. If they don’t make a ninety-five or above, they have to do a retake assignment. When that’s done, and if they’ve made at least a seventy, then they go home. I’m supposing you’re asking because you want to pick her up?”

             I nodded. “Yeah…keep this between us, because I don’t want you to worry her, but there’s some…trouble going on with our clans right now. I don’t want you to let anyone come take Tsubasa if it’s not me or Neji. I don’t care what they say, what ninja identification card they show you, it’s either me or Neji. If it’s not us, then Tsubasa stays with you. Don’t let her leave without one of us coming to pick her up either. I don’t want her leaving to walk home on her own. Alright?”

            Daikoku’s eyes widened. “My Kami, that sounds serious. Alright, I understand. If you’ll give me your cell, I’ll send you a text when she’s finished every night, so you can come right away.”

            “Appreciate it.” I took out my cell phone, and we exchanged numbers. I named the contact **Remedial Class Instructor**. “Great. I’ll just wait out here for her.”

            “You look peaked,” he said, looking concerned. “You can go wait in the teacher’s lounge, it’s right down the hall, we’ve got drinks and a couch. They only just started writing their essays, so take a load off.”

            “Thanks,” I said.

            I gave him a wave and went to the lounge. There was a unisex bathroom en suite, so I used it. And even though I was peeing so much, I hadn’t had anything to drink since coffee yesterday. It was astounding I even had liquid left, but I was too thirsty to just stop drinking. Besides, I was stressed out and I wasn’t going to stop peeing just because I wasn’t drinking.

            I got myself a mineral water from the mini-fridge and guzzled it. Then I relaxed on the couch. I fell asleep and woke up when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

            I sat up and checked it.

            **Remedial Class Instructor: Tsubasa has completed her retake assignment. We’re waiting for you in the classroom.**

            I got up, rubbed at my eyes then went to the classroom.

            Tsubasa was alone, sitting at her desk.

            I knocked on the wall to get her attention.

            Tsubasa jumped up, and rushed to me. “Daddy! You came to pick me up!”

            With that, I realized Daikoku hadn’t told her anything.

            “Good girl.” I picked her up onto my chest and hugged her tight, then sat her back down. “Of course I came. You think I’ll let you walk home in the dark by yourself? Thanks Daikoku, I’ll see you on Monday.”

            “Bye now,” he said with a smile.

            Tsubasa held my hand tightly as we left, and she told me about her day. It sounded like none of the other students knew anything about the experiment or that she had two daddies. Her schedule was packed.

            She had the remedial class with Instructor Daikoku in the morning from six-thirty to eight-thirty. They did have a break at seven-thirty, so she was glad we had packed her sandwiches. Then from eight-thirty to twelve, she had Iruka’s class. There was lunch and recess from twelve-to one. Then from one to four, she had the kunoichi class with Suzume. Then from four to eight is when the Remedial class officially ended, except that Instructor Daikoku had implemented the _go home essay_ rule, so she really couldn’t get out of class until she completed the essay, and if she failed the essay, she’d have to take a retake assignment, and pass that with a high enough score to leave.

            “So you showed up right on time!” She grinned up at me. “How did you know I was finished?”

            I said, “Instructor Daikoku sent me a text, so I’d know when to come. Like I said, I don’t want you walking home by yourself when it’s this late. Neji or I will walk you to and from school for the time being.”

            Tsubasa nodded and didn’t question it. Instead she launched into a discussion about how she was the last to leave the class, and she had to work harder to graduate from the Remedial Class so she would only need to be in regular class.

            “You do have a tough schedule to keep,” I said. “But if you make sure to get enough sleep at night, and eat well, you’ll be able to handle it.”

            We reached the house, and it was dark. My free hand fisted.

            _Fucking Hiashi did it again. What exactly is he trying to do to Neji? Fucking break him? Haze him psychologically until he just gives Tsubasa over? I saw Neji’s state last night, and now he’s been in this meeting all fucking day since this morning. Fugaku didn’t let me eat and he only let me use the bathroom because otherwise I’d have an accident. What about Neji? Is he eating, drinking, getting bathroom breaks?_

            “Aw…” Tsubasa moaned. “Mommy’s not home again! Last night I went to bed without even seeing her, ah I mean him.”

            I was glad she corrected the pronoun, but now I had a problem. I wasn’t going to call this time, I was marching up to the Hyuga compound and getting my wife back. But there was no way I was leaving Tsubasa home by herself, not when she could get kidnapped the moment my back was turned. Nor was I bringing her to the Hyuga compound, the den of enemies. So that meant I had to get a babysitter. But it was ten at night…everyone was going to be sleeping.

            Then I decided.

            “We’re going to Hikaru’s house,” I said, turning away from our house and kept walking.

            “Huh?” Tsubasa stared up at me. “But why? Isn’t it too late to go visiting? And where’s Mommy?”

            “I need to talk with Iruka-sensei and Kakashi,” I said. “And I also need them to watch you while I go get Mommy.”

            Tsubasa nodded and bit her lower lip, but after checking my intense expression, she didn’t ask anymore questions.

            Thank Kami the lights were on at Kakashi’s house, so I rang the doorbell.

            I heard a curse. “Fuck! They’re really trying it Iruka!”

            “Kakashi, wait!”

            The door swung open, and Kakashi stood there, already puffed up to yell but it all sighed out of him as he saw it was me. He wasn’t wearing his headband, so both of his eyes were visible.

            “Oh. Sasuke? And Tsubasa?”

            “Can we come in?” I asked, even as I was urging Tsubasa in front of me, so Kakashi had to move back.

            Iruka blinked a few times as we entered, and Kakashi closed the door. “Sasuke? It’s really late to be dropping by. Normally we’re asleep by this time.”

            “Yeah, same here,” I said. “Uh, do you have a place for Tsubasa to be? Like with Hikaru maybe?”

            Kakashi put one hand on his hip, his other hand rustled his hair. “Ah, Hikaru’s already asleep man. But we can put her in our bedroom for now.”

            Tsubasa stared up at us. “What’s going on?”

            “Nothing,” I said. “Just go on, Daddy’s gotta have a grown up talk.”

            “Come this way Tsubasa,” said Iruka with a nice smile. “Come on.”

            Tsubasa went with him, and Iruka put her in the bedroom, then he locked it.

            He came to me and we all moved into the kitchen table to sit down.

            “So what’s this late night visit about Sasuke?” Kakashi looked angry already. “Don’t tell me you’re here about Hikaru.”

            “Not even a little,” I said honestly. “I’m here about Tsubasa.”

            “Tsubasa?” They both asked, sounding shocked and confused.

            “Yeah,” I said. “Look, right now the Uchiha and the Hyuga clans have lost their goddammed minds. They’re fighting over Tsubasa like she’s just some weapon that they both want to acquire, and they’re getting more demanding. At this point, Tsubasa is in danger of kidnapping.”

            Iruka’s jaw dropped then he covered his mouth with both hands.

            “Holy shit,” said Kakashi. “And I thought their harassing me was bad enough. Kidnapping?”

            “That’s right,” I said. “I just can’t put it past them with the way things have been going. I came here however because I need to rescue Neji from the Hyuga compound. I think Hiashi is using psychological torture on Neji in order to force Neji into willingly signing Tsubasa over to him. He’s been essentially kidnapping Neji into hours long meetings, and when Neji comes back, he looks like he’s been through hell. I actually had to call and force them to let him go yesterday, and now he hasn’t come home still. He’s been with them since the Academy opening ceremony this morning.”

            “Oh that’s awful,” said Iruka. “And you came here with Tsubasa because you can’t leave her home alone.”

            “Exactly,” I said. “And because I know the Uchiha’s have been bothering you guys about Hikaru, I thought you’d be the best choice to come to, as you’d understand.”

            “We totally understand,” said Kakashi, and he cracked his knuckles. Even with his mask covering most of his face, his revealed eyes were furious. He had black liner around his eyes, like he was sleep-deprived, and his whites were strained with red capillaries. He looked on edge. “We’ll watch Tsubasa as long as you need, and you can come over whenever you need to afterhours. Iruka will be here, and honestly I’ve been feeling like a sack of shit on fire lately so I’ll be here too.”

            I stood. “Thanks you two, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Also, can you feed Tsubasa for me? It’s late and she hasn’t eaten.”

            “Don’t worry,” said Iruka, nodding at me. “We’ll look after her. Go get your wife.”

            I thanked them again and raced out. I got to the Hyuga compound and went into the main office. The door was locked, and it was dark.

            “Fuck!” I cursed then ran to the Clan Head’s house. The lights were on but there were two Hyuga’s standing guard at the door. They both moved into the Gentle Fist stance at the sight me, clearly ready to fight.

            “Out of my way!”

            I didn’t waste time with them, I activated my Sharingan and cast a genjutsu on them, making them believe that no one was standing there, and that they were still peacefully guarding. The guards relaxed into a normal stance, and didn’t stop me from opening the door and entering.

            I could hear crying, not just crying, but dejected sobbing.

            _Neji._

            I ran towards it, and slammed open a shoji sliding door so hard I broke it. Hiashi stood up. It was just him in the room, with a small table and cushions. Neji was crumpled on his cushion, crying into the tatami mat floor, his body shaking.

            “This meeting is over Hiashi,” I said heavily, breathing hard like I was about to spew fire. “I’m taking Neji home.”

            Hiashi’s eyes narrowed. “How did you get in here? Why would my guards let you into my house?”

            “Your guards are under a genjutsu,” I said. I walked over to Neji, and lifted him over onto my shoulder. He didn’t fight, his body was lax and his knees trembling. “And you’re lucky I don’t put you under one as well. Don’t even try to stop me.”

            Hiashi said coldly as I headed to the door. “You’ve overstepped your bounds Uchiha. Breaking and entering into another clan’s home, the head of the clan in fact? Just one more proof that you’re an unfit parent. You don’t even have control over yourself, let alone the ability to raise a powerful kunoichi.”

            I flipped him off over my head and I walked out.

            I left the compound and lifted the genjutsu over the guards. I took Neji home, and laid him on the bed. He sprawled there, he was unconscious. He had no visible wounds on his body but that’s because all the wounds were in his mind.

            I pressed my fist to my mouth, focusing on breathing and not throwing up. I didn’t wake Neji, but I removed his clothes and I cleaned up his face with a warm washcloth.

            “I’ll be back,” I told him. “I’m going to get Tsubasa. Just get some rest.”

            “Tsubasa…” Neji murmured, tears streaking from underneath his closed eyelids.

            I gritted my teeth, and I used the bathroom before I left to get her. I went back to the Hatake house, and Iruka let me in. Tsubasa was at the table, eating a bowl of rice, with side dishes of natto, tofu and miso soup, with Kakashi reading by her. 

            Iruka asked quietly, “How’d it go?”

            “It’s exactly as I feared,” I said just as softly, keeping my eyes on Tsubasa to make sure she wasn’t overhearing. “Neji’s home, but he’s definitely wearing down. I’ve got to protect him and Tsubasa.”

            Iruka nodded and patted my back. “Like we said earlier, you can come here whenever you want. And as long as Tsubasa is in the Academy, I won’t let her leave with anyone but you or Neji. You need to talk about this to the Fourth Hokage, before this gets worse.”

            I shook my head. “What can he do? When it comes down to do it, this is all happening because of him. If he had any type of control over Orochimaru, none of this would have happened. And he’s mishandled this entire thing, from the start. But I love Tsubasa and I love Neji, so I need to protect them on my own now.”

            Iruka sighed. “Don’t let your stubbornness backfire Sasuke.”

            I just nodded and walked over to Tsubasa. “Hey, you eating good?”

            She smiled up at me. “Yup. Where’s Mommy?”

            “At home sleeping,” I said. “So when you finish up eating, you’re going home to sleep too.”

            “Okay! I’ll be done soon.”

            Kakashi got up and gestured to me, so I went over to talk to him, while Iruka moved to sit by Tsubasa.

            “How’s Neji?” He asked, looking down at me. “What happened?”

            “Hiashi was torturing him mentally just like I thought,” I said low. “I didn’t see how he was doing it, I just saw Neji crying on the floor. Hiashi was across the table, and he wasn’t touching him, or saying anything far as I can tell.”

            My fists clenched, and I ground my teeth. “He’s pushing Neji to a breaking point.”

            “You don’t look so hot yourself Sasuke,” pointed out Kakashi. “How are you holding up?”

            “I’ve got Itachi so I’m fine,” I said, rolling back my shoulders. “But I can’t deny I’m stressed out. My body certainly won’t let me forget.”

            “Same here,” said Kakashi, closing his eyes, and his bags were so dark for a second he looked like Gaara. He opened them, saying, “According to Shizune, stress causes fatigue, and so does clinical depression. That’s why I’m so fucking tired all the damn time. It’s also the reason why I’m so nauseous I don’t want to eat.”

            “Damn, you’re stressed out just as much,” I said. “What is my clan doing to you?”

            Kakashi sighed heavily and shoved his hands into his pockets. “They’re just the harassing the crap out of me. Because I’ve been staying home from being too ill to take missions, they call like every hour, so they keep waking me up. If I refuse to answer the phone after a few hours, they send someone in person to talk to me. And you saw at the Academy opening ceremony, fucking grabbing my arm like that.”

            He sighed and shook his head. “They literally don’t give a shit about Hikaru as a person, that he’s happy with us, that he wants to stay with us. All they want to know if he’s got the Sharingan, telling me to force him to awaken it, and if he’s got it, they’ll get him adopted so he’s an Uchiha. We’ve been doing our best to shield Hikaru from it, but he’s super observant, he acts silly but he doesn’t miss a beat. So he can’t even be happy about the Academy, because he’s worried about me being stressed and about our family breaking up.”

            I said earnestly, “I’m sorry about my clan Kakashi. Even if I wasn’t in the same boat as you right now, I’d be on your side. Listen, if you ever need to drop Hikaru by my house, it’s fine too. We gotta have each other’s back.”

            Kakashi grinned, and it curved his eyes, making it look like he had painted black upside down smiles on his face. “Thanks Sasuke, I appreciate it. You know, if this had never happened, we would have never gotten close like this. I don’t see you as just my former student anymore, you’re kind of like a brother in arms. A mix of my little brother and a comrade.”

            My face flushed before I could stop it and I turned my head away before he could see it.

            I muttered, “Yeah well, that’s how it is sometimes.”

            Kakashi laughed outloud, and nudged me with his elbow. “Ah, ever the tsundere, huh Sasuke? Anyway, Tsubasa’s done, and it’s going on midnight now. You’d better go, and get some sleep.”

            “You too Kakashi.” I nodded to him with a short smile, then gathered Tsubasa at the door. She was yawning, and her knapsack sliding off her shoulder, so I took it and hung the strap over my shoulder, then I picked her up. She put her arms around my neck, her legs looped over my hips and she fell asleep, nestling her face into my neck.

            “Thanks you guys,” I said as Iruka opened the door for me.

            “Not a problem Sasuke,” said Iruka as I stepped out. “Come by anytime. Goodnight.”

            “Goodnight.”

            I couldn’t sign with my fingers while holding Tsubasa, so I had no choice but to walk home. I moved as quickly as I could, praying that the Uchihas or the Hyugas wouldn’t decide now to lunge out and kidnap Tsubasa.

            I got home and got inside, and put Tsubasa in bed. I stripped her down to her underwear, and tucked her under the covers. I stared down at her, my precious daughter, and gathered her back into my chest, holding her. I put my face into her neck this time, and cried again. I stopped after a few minutes, laid her back down, and used my shirt to dry her off. I turned on her nightlight and left the room.

            Neji was slowly sitting up, and I turned on the beside lamp.

            “Sasuke?” He looked up at me, his face wan and drawn with lines, his eyes baggy. He looked old and tired.

            “Yeah, it’s me.” I said.

            I took off my clothes and I left them on the floor next to Neji’s. I turned off the bedside lamp and got in the bed, pulling him against me.

            “How’d I get here?” He asked, cuddling against me. “Last thing I remember was being in Hiashi’s room…now I’m waking up in my bed.”

            “I took you from him,” I said, stroking down his hair and back, then over his temple, curling my fingers over his ear. “I brought you home safe.”

            Neji smiled, tired but true. “Thank you Sasuke. You don’t look very good, are you okay?”

            I chuckled then laughed. “Oh Neji. You’re the one who’s worse off than me. Yet you ask about me?”

            “Of course,” he said, smiling wider. “I love you, so I’ll always ask about you. Where’s Tsubasa?”

            “Sleep in bed,” I said. “I’ve got a lot of things to tell you, but it’s late, so we’ll talk in the morning. And I love you Neji. And I won’t let our marriage get dissolved. And I won’t let Tsubasa go anywhere but back home with us, where she belongs.”

            “Oh Sasuke.” Neji leaned forward, and we kissed, before settling down to sleep.

            I held Neji close to me, and almost fell asleep when my door creaked open.

            I jerked up, reaching for a kunai that was in the bedside table drawer.

            “Daddy? Mommy?”

            It was Tsubasa, standing in the doorway.

            “Yes?” Neji sat up. “Are you okay?”

            “I’m scared,” she said shakily. “Can I sleep in here with you?”

            “Of course baby,” we both said.

            Tsubasa dashed forward, and climbed into the bed. Neji moved her so she was in between us, and we all snuggled together. Neji and I put our arms over Tsubasa’s back, and she wrapped her arms over both of our necks, and we all shared the pillow. Like this, with my family safe in my arms, I immediately fell asleep.


End file.
